A dear friend of mine once told me, “It’s best to take a compliment as if you are dead”.  I believed him.  But it has taken years to be able to understand the mechanics of why that’s right. 

I have learned that compliments float by if you pay them no mind.  But if you hold them and examine their intent, you will be injured. 

You see, they have tiny anchors on tiny chains.  While you are holding them the captain lowers all anchors.  As you examine, your pride becomes exposed.  And the tiny anchors latch to the very roots of pride. 

They’re a real pain to unstick since pride hides in our blind spot.  Usually one must swallow a few “horse pill” size doses of humiliation.   This will reduce the size of your pride and the tiny anchors will loose their grip.

Since flattery abounds, and the threat often comes from nowhere, it’s best to keep taking humiliation as a daily dosage.