Allow no man to be so free with you as to praise you to your face.

Praise delivered to your face puts you in an awkward position and often has a purpose. You cannot examine it, cannot disagree without seeming graceless, and cannot easily tell admiration from management. Someone in the habit of doing it is training you to want their approval, whether or not they have thought of it that way.

Watch who does this regularly and what tends to follow. Take the compliment with a plain thank you and no more, then change the subject rather than swimming in it. Weigh the opinion of the people who tell you things you did not want to hear, and let their praise be the kind that counts.