Can I share one piece of advice with you…don’t dye your own hair. I have come to realize that there are many ways to save money, but actually coloring your own hair may not be the best luxury to cut back on. Last weekend, in an attempt to do my share with tightening our belts, I bought a box of auburn hair dye. In my head I figured that I spend over $100 getting my hair dyed and cut professionally…I would be saving about $80 by doing it myself. One bright, cranberry-red head and about a hundred tears later I have come to the conclusion that no amount of money is worth ever having to go out in public with hair that looks like a fall tree. I had to call my hairdresser in shame and ask her for a quick-fix solution until I could actually get an appointment. I had to re-dye my hair with a green-based color to counteract the obvious excess of red. While it has improved, I have been avoiding mirrors all week, so I can live in my fantasy world where my hair is its normal shiny, brown color.
Amazingly, I was at a party on Wednesday where several people told me how much they liked my new color. Assuming they were only saying this to be nice, my response to them was, “Well you should have seen it before I applied the second color. I looked like my head was on fire, and now I just look like a fall nightmare.” My good friend Alicia must have heard this response one too many times because at one point I heard her yell across the room, “Just say thank you! When someone says something nice to you…JUST say thank you!”
This got me thinking about the fact that I have a really hard time when people say nice things about me…and I bet I am not alone in this. Why do we feel that when people pay us a compliment, we need to minimize that compliment by pointing out the negative? When people compliment me on my weight loss, my usual response is to tell them that I still have 25 pounds left to lose. Why must I point that out instead of focusing on the fact that I have lost and kept off over 60 pounds? If someone tells me how skinny I am looking, I will often attribute it to the clothes I am wearing—“This outfit just makes me look thin.” Why can’t I just celebrate the new size I am wearing?
While I may never know the reasoning behind why I cannot seem to just accept compliments, I do think that what Alicia said to me was good advice. I need to remember to JUST say thank you. When people tell me they like my new hair color, I need to say, “Thanks. I thought I would brighten it up for the fall.” When someone congratulates me on the weight I have taken off, I should tell them, “Thanks, I have really been working hard to get it off.” And when someone tells me I am looking thin, I need to own the fact that the clothes only make me look good because I work out everyday and have trimmed up many of my flabby spots.
So as we prepare for Thanksgiving, let’s remember to be thankful for our friends and family that support us and make us feel special. And when they tell us that we look wonderful or that they are proud of all our hard work, let’s own that and JUST SAY THANK YOU!
Amazingly, I was at a party on Wednesday where several people told me how much they liked my new color. Assuming they were only saying this to be nice, my response to them was, “Well you should have seen it before I applied the second color. I looked like my head was on fire, and now I just look like a fall nightmare.” My good friend Alicia must have heard this response one too many times because at one point I heard her yell across the room, “Just say thank you! When someone says something nice to you…JUST say thank you!”
This got me thinking about the fact that I have a really hard time when people say nice things about me…and I bet I am not alone in this. Why do we feel that when people pay us a compliment, we need to minimize that compliment by pointing out the negative? When people compliment me on my weight loss, my usual response is to tell them that I still have 25 pounds left to lose. Why must I point that out instead of focusing on the fact that I have lost and kept off over 60 pounds? If someone tells me how skinny I am looking, I will often attribute it to the clothes I am wearing—“This outfit just makes me look thin.” Why can’t I just celebrate the new size I am wearing?
While I may never know the reasoning behind why I cannot seem to just accept compliments, I do think that what Alicia said to me was good advice. I need to remember to JUST say thank you. When people tell me they like my new hair color, I need to say, “Thanks. I thought I would brighten it up for the fall.” When someone congratulates me on the weight I have taken off, I should tell them, “Thanks, I have really been working hard to get it off.” And when someone tells me I am looking thin, I need to own the fact that the clothes only make me look good because I work out everyday and have trimmed up many of my flabby spots.
So as we prepare for Thanksgiving, let’s remember to be thankful for our friends and family that support us and make us feel special. And when they tell us that we look wonderful or that they are proud of all our hard work, let’s own that and JUST SAY THANK YOU!
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