Successful and resilient people know how to accept compliments. The best way to do this when somebody says something positive about you is to reply by saying “Thank you”. You don’t have to self-justify or write off the nice remark with something like “Yeah, I got it right, for once!”; “I don’t expect it’ll happen again”; or “It was a fluke, I’m useless really”.

Due modesty is an art and an appealing quality, but even the most self-effacing person first has to accept the compliment before skilfully playing it down. Save this for later, when you have become more accustomed to accepting compliments. Being modest about your achievements does not mean writing yourself off as a no-hoper.