By Anna Wallace Micaela Marini Higgs It can feel naturally awkward to "over hype" yourself after doing something you're proud of. If you just got a 100 on your test you feel weird telling people because you come across as "arrogant" or simply bragging. However giving yourself credit for your achievements is great for your brain! Studies have been showing that keeping a positive perspective on your success encourages better habits and can decrease stress. So why not be proud of yourself? In fact according to Dr. Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business School, even if you are bad at taking a compliment from other people you can still get major psychological benefits by celebrating achievements on your own! These achievements don't have to be ground breaking accomplishments. Even the little things do a lot, such as getting your homework done quickly. Research shows that some praise can increase your motivation which brings me back to better habits. Compliments can boost performances and improve the brain's ability to learn and repeat useful skills. Dr. Kristin Neff, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas, emphasizes the importance of allowing this form of positivity into your system because naturally humans tend to dwell on their failures rather than achievements. Interestingly, this dates back to some of our oldest ancestors. Neff said our ancestors "who were negative worrywarts were more likely to survive, so our brains are designed to look for problems,”. So yes. Humans really are naturally hardwired to have trouble taking compliments. But recently this has shown to decrease productivity and motivation which ultimately leads to more stress. Then there is the factor of society's message that "it's not good to seem like we're bragging" which makes us limit ourselves in how much compliment ourselves. Compliments can go a long way towards yourself AND other people. You may not even realize it but according to Melody Wilding, a licensed social worker, professor of human behavior at Hunter College, our strengths as humans come naturally to us so we don't realize their value. This is why compliments can be so powerful. This doesn't even have to come from other people! Self respect can come a long way. Higgs, Micaela Marini. "How to Accept a Compliment - Even If It's From Yourself." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Dec. 2018. Web. 11 Dec. 2018. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj3o-2jqJjfAhXIVN8KHWmCAKMQjxx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvalhallamind.com%2Fpersonal-development%2Fsuccess-skills%2F7-killer-actions-boost-self-confidence%2F&psig=AOvVaw2jkTJBM7Pt0al_eInitFkO&ust=1544636164540622
2 Comments
Evelyn
12/11/2018 12:53:34 pm
This reminds me of this article I read that talked about why there is so much negativity in the news. It used the same reasoning here, humans who noticed the tiger or bear or something that was about to pounce on them were far more likely to survive than the ones that stared at the pretty flowers all day.
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Pie
12/13/2018 07:24:04 am
I think it's really interesting that compliments can actually make your brain work better! I never thought they had much effect on anything except self-esteem, but that makes a lot of sense. I can definitely remember times in my life where I've focused more on a failure than a success, though. Now that I know my brain is hardwired to do that, I think I'll try to focus more on the positive side of things.
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Ms. Carrigan's Psych ClassWe have been reading articles about psychological studies to inform the way we live our lives. Please explore, and we hope you learn a bit about the psychology in your life! Categories
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