Now, before you start…no, I’m not a douche or an asshat 
I just have some problems accepting compliments from other players and I’d like to know how to solve this issue so players don’t get upset at me, thinking I’m just being an ass for not accepting their compliment. Alright, so…story time!
For as long as I can remember, when someone tells me I have a good insert character name here, my usual response is, “I guess” or something similar to that. In other words, it’s just a dodgy answer to not accept the compliment because I feel I’m not deserving of such praise. It just kind of puts me in an awkward position when I fight someone that I believe is better than myself calls me a, “good” player.
It’s like, “Wow. This guy is totally out of my league. How can he just call me, “good” ? Is he being sarcastic or something?”. I can’t really think of a time where someone has called me, “good” in a sarcastic manner though. So they tend to get a little frustrated when I reply with, “If you say so, lol” or something like that.
I guess my honesty also gets me in trouble with some people sometimes as well. For example, if I run across someone who is obviously playing like he’s brand new to the game and I beat him with little to no effort, then I get a mail saying, “Wow! You’re really good!”, I’ll usually just send something back like, “No, not really. I’m just better than you. That doesn’t mean I’m, “really good” though”. So they take offense to that and think I’m being an ass.
I don’t really just try to go out of my way to piss people off, but that’s how my answers are comprehended sometimes, I guess. Anyway, this generally leads to me just quitting the game altogether at some point. My goal is to get better at the game and maybe aspire to be like a particular player that’s crazy good with my main.
The further I progress and the better I become, the more compliments I start to get. Now, I’m sure a lot of you are scratching your head thinking, “But isn’t that a good thing?”, lol. I guess to some, but I’m not too comfortable with compliments, really.
After you have quite a few people telling you how great of a player you are, it’s like they put pressure on you without even considering your feelings. You’re setting an example for them and they look up to you. I never asked for anything like that. I just wanted to mind my own business and get good at the game, I didn’t want the spotlight shone on me and I sure didn’t want a reputation I thought I didn’t deserve.
It just really makes me wonder though. How can these people constantly compliment me and call me, “good” if I, myself, don’t think I have reached the status of, “good” yet? I mean, I’ve had players better than myself call me, “good” and I’m just like, “Wtf? Ummm…how?”, lol. Why would someone I think is better than me call me, “good” when he’s already, “good” ?
I sure know I’m not on that guy’s level yet since I couldn’t even put up a fight, so it’s pretty confusing when a better player tells you something like that. Maybe it’s because I don’t understand how the scene works or something? I’ve never participated in an offline session or tournament before, so maybe this kind of behavior is pretty common and I’m just unaware of it.
I was talking with someone earlier on AIM about, “hype” at tournaments and such, and I’m just like, “Man…I don’t see how you deal with all that. I want to concentrate on the match. I’d just be getting frustrated if some dude was in the background going, “OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” after every combo I landed” and he tried to convince me that, “No, that’s the kind of reaction you want from them” and whatnot.
I just don’t really think they should be cheering for me before the battle is even over. It feels like a premature celebration if you ask me. Plus, I just want to concentrate on the match.
Anyway, I’m a pretty long way from reaching my goal in Super, but when I do and I start receiving more compliments, and more people start wanting to challenge me cause of my, “reputation” or whatever, I don’t want to just quit playing like I’ve done with all the other fighting games up to this point. Could someone please tell me how to learn to accept a compliment you don’t feel you’re deserving of? I know it seems like a simple problem, but when these people I don’t even know start putting me higher and higher on this pedestal, it just makes me feel worse…not better.
It’s just too much pressure, honestly. Once word gets around, then someone will come along and fight you, then expect you to be good because that’s what they heard, but when you get beat easily, then it will just lead to disappointment. I just don’t want people to expect too much out of me, ya know? I hate going into fights and the player expecting me to be, “good” only to find out, I don’t play at my fullest during every fight and I still make common mistakes.
I just think some players shouldn’t be so quick to judge and claim someone is this really, “good” player when they’re not. I’ve had plenty of people tell me I just don’t give myself enough credit and I should accept the compliments as they come, but I just find it terribly hard to do this. How can I honestly believe I’m good just because someone tells me I am, even though I think I’m not?
Well, in any case…any help with this frustrating matter would be much appreciated. I’d really love to know how to accept compliments when they come and maybe this can build up my confidence or something. I don’t know if that’s what I’ve been lacking in my game, but plenty of people have told me throughout different games, the same story, “All you need is some polishing and your insert character name here could be a beast”.
I guess this is what needs polishing. Who knows. Anyway, thanks for reading :karate:
It covers all the bases and is still being modest