Stop throwing compliments back like hot potatoes. Say “thanks” and let it land.

Deflecting feels modest and mostly it just cancels the thing. When someone says your work was good and you immediately explain what was wrong with it, you have corrected them for being kind, and they learn not to bother next time. The discomfort you feel is about taking up space rather than about accuracy. Nothing bad happens if you let a good sentence stay in the room.

Say thank you and then stop talking. No qualifier, no list of flaws, no joke to cut it. It feels strange twice and normal after that.