FOCUS: What is the best compliment you've ever been paid? ALT FOCUS: What is the compliment that really would make your day, regardless of whether it's ever actually happened to you?
A few of my friends tell me I'm the smartest person they know. It is high praise, but it always makes me uncomfortable. I don't think I know nearly enough to be considered an intelligent person, and I feel that if I'm the smartest person someone knows, that someone hasn't met enough people. As for the alt. focus, I think too many people spend too much time trying to be happy. I think that time would be better spent trying to become an interesting person. As such, I think the compliment I'd most like to hear about myself is someone telling me that I am interesting.
FOCUS: Not spoken, but getting a bonus and/or raise. If you don't think money is the best compliment I don't think I can have an intelligent conversation with you.
Any acknowledgment of hard work or being able to do something well is great. A couple weeks ago my co worker was on vacation, leaving me and the doc I work for to fend for ourselves. We say shitloads of patients, and I busted my ass.( As much as you can in an office setting.) Kept up with all the phone calls, referrals, and still made sure things were done before he went into an exam room. Friday afternoon he hands me an envelope, says it's a little something to recognize my effort. I tried to refuse, but he said to take it, and I didn't want to be rude. A couple pictures of President Grant inside made for a nice ending to a busy week. It's nice to know someone still recognizes effort.
One of the biggest compliments I've had was during our 2009 running of the 24 hours of Daytona. I was Team Manager of our race team, and was responsible for a lot of the logistics for getting the team, drivers, car, gear, etc., down to Daytona, and dealt with all of the suppliers at the track; fuel, tires, nitrogen, etc. We had a shit-ton of problems that year, with some axles that kept breaking on us. The first time it happened the car was out on track, and it was a definite "oh shit" moment. The team owner looked at me, said "You're in control", and along with the crew chief and a couple of mechanics double-timed it back to the paddock while the car limped in off the track for repairs. They fixed the problem with the car, then I got the radio call "I'm sending him your way; get him back out on track." I was then in communication with the driver, talked him down pit lane, managed the 10 guys on the crew, ran the pit stop to get the car new tires and refuelled, coordinated with the spotters and race control, etc. The driver was freaked out (new "gentleman" driver, and this wasn't normal stuff for him), so I talked him down, got his head back in the game, and sent him back out on track. The owner and crew chief came back, and said "Good job". That was it. And it meant the world. The reason it was such a huge compliment to me was that I'd never done that stuff before, and yet it was just handed off to me with complete trust that I'd get done what had to be done. It was a huge responsibility, without any "don't forget to" or "be sure to"... just trust that I'd get it done the way it had to be done. The understatement of the "Good Job" made it that much better, as did the subsequent handing off of control to me during the race.
I was complimented frequently when I was working horses, usually because they rarely could buck me off. I can sell ice to an eskimo according to many a boss in a sales environment.
I wrote this in the R&R thread too. The other day, a plumber came to my house to check out my toilet situation. Plumber: "You a foreigner or somethin'? You speak all proper and stuff!" I try to not talk with a hick accent as much as possible. His statement made my day!
Yeah, I hang around with morons, too. The best compliment I could be paid is the compliment paid to one of my kids.
I've been paid a couple great compliments. These two stick out, though I reserve the right to think of more. Once, one of my English teachers read one my stories aloud to the class. This is a pretty great compliment in and of itself, but it's made a bit better by the fact it wasn't even my class. It's made MUCH better by the fact that it wasn't his class either -- he had walked into another teacher's English class, read my story to them, said, "this has to be an A+, right?", then walked back out. So that whole day I had random people coming up to me and telling me stuff about this story I had written, which was confusing. *The story was about this English teacher, and how his wife tricks him into fucking a goat. The scansion was on point though. The second, more lurid compliment I've gotten is sexual suspicion. A few different girls have said stuff to the effect of "why are you so good at [that]?", usually referring to oral sex. I usually mumble, "beginner's luck", but sometimes they actually seem curious. They could very well be lying, but if you're looking to pay somebody a sexual compliment, that's a great form to use. I'm skeptical by nature and it always warms my heart.
The other day, I went in to my boss' office to give her something she had asked me to work on, and her daughter was there. She candidly asked, "Mom, what would you do without [effin]?" Without batting an eye, my boss replied, "Are you kidding, I'd get nothing done here and lose my damn mind without him."
This. It's really rewarding to get comments about my girls being well behaved/kind/polite/whatever. Little shits make me so proud *sniffle*
The best non-physical compliments I receive are about how compassionate I am, which I like because that's one of my favorite qualities and it feels nice to have it acknowledged because it often comes at a cost to me. This is sort of a stretch to count as a compliment, and I know it's silly, but one of the things that makes me happy is that animals really love me. I'm always the one person that some cranky pet takes a liking too, and they just always attach to me and get very calm and happy when I'm around. I think animals are the best detectors of human character, so whenever it happens I take it as a compliment. The best physical compliment I ever had was when I was told I look like Marion Cotillard.
There are two that stick out in my mind. One happened last year while interning at a law firm and one of the partners I barely knew told me that he would definitely hire me when I'm finished with law school and that he was impressed with my work and dedication. The other was about a month ago when the best and most brilliant professor I've ever had told me that I was "a great writer and an excellent thinker" and that I need to go to law school and not waste my talent. He might have been embellishing a bit but fuck it. I'll take a compliment where ever I can get it from such a brilliant legal mind.
There are a couple that stand out for me: The first was from a guy I worked with at a previous job. I grew up in Indiana but I’ve lived in GA for 19 years, and I’ve assimilated very well. This guy is a “born and bred” type from rural NW Georgia, has a farm, raises cattle, drives an F350 diesel and a big John Deere tractor, doesn’t like anybody different from him. I had gotten to be good friends with him and he told me one day “You know, ZZR, if you hadn’t told me you were from up north, I’da never guessed it.” We’ve always gotten compliments on how well-behaved our kids are, but that honestly does nothing for me. They’re generally good kids and they have been taught to behave and know there are consequences if they don’t. Those compliments are more of a sad commentary on the average behavior of kids these days. We haven’t done anything special, just what’s right. The best compliment has come from our kids themselves. Each of the three of them has told me that they think I’m the best dad in the world. There’s just nothing better than that.
I didn't think of this but I get compliments on my kiddos very often. They are thoughtful, smart and creative and they look alot like me. (thank gawd, the ex ain't so hot) My son is rocking a three inch mohawk with pride, so rad.
My grandfather on my mother's side was a brilliant business man, and an insanely smart guy all around, but he was taciturn and not given to expressions of love. One day he sat down next to me and my mom and said, "I just know Roxanne is going to follow my footsteps and be damn good at it. Not sure about your other ones though, you should keep an eye on them." Incidentally, my other greatest compliment came from a professor who was brilliant, and also not given to praise for any of his students, or even giving out As. I was stressing about an essay we had to write, asking him if I was on the right track, and he stopped me and said, "You're a smart girl. Whatever you write is probably going to get an A." Hard-earned compliments are the best.
My Beer, people keep telling me it's the best they've ever had and I should start my own pro-microbrewery. This could be just because they want more free beer. (Also because a lot of people never get to try real beer, I'm looking at you miller lite drinkers) And a real ale should be had while it's still young, not sitting in a bottle for months. (Best between 2-6 weeks when kegged) And a mate gave me a really nice compliment a few weeks ago; "I hate you! You always have people eating out of your hand a minute after meeting them." I can be a smooth motherfucker when I apply myself.
This isn't really the best one or even a flat-out compliment, but it's my favorite statement of approval from a kid. A little girl I was teaching asked me, "Why are you so pretty?" She was at that age where everything is, "Why?" "Because blah blah blah." "But, why?" Just the way she said it was so damn cute I wanted to hurl.
"Aetius is one of the two or three most brilliant students I have come across in a career of more than 20 years" "That was the best sex I've ever had" (she said this multiple times over a few months because I kept topping myself. That and her ex of five years was terrible in the sack)