One thing many people don't quite realize is the genuine impact a seemingly simple compliment can have on a person. It can stick with them for much longer than you expect it to and, sometimes, can completely change the way a person sees themselves.
And this week, when Reddit user SeaCelia asked, "What is the best compliment you've ever received?" the responses were almost too pure to be contained.
Here are just a few of the sweetest, silliest, most wholesome compliments shared:
1."A former boss said, 'I like that you have a type B personality, but you get type A results.'"
4."I was sitting with my mother when my 5-year-old daughter came over screaming about something. I asked her what she was frustrated about, and then we talked it out with her and she walked away happy. My mom told me, 'Wow, that was some good parenting.'"
6."As an engineering student, we had to turn a chess piece on the lathe. One of the workshop staff was known for picking holes in every piece of work anyone ever produced. I’d just finished the component, and this particular staff member happened to be checking it. He very carefully examined it, then muttered the words 'It’s all right' and walked off. It might not sound like much, but coming from him...best compliment ever."
7."Someone I had just met told me I was 'funny.' It was the first time I ever received a nonsuperficial compliment and — being a very insecure teenager at the time — that one really stuck with me."
8."Once in public speaking class I jokingly introduced myself in a speech with 'I like the sound of my own voice,' and the professor immediately shot back with, 'And so do we!' As someone who's struggled with feeling like what I have to say is worth hearing, that really stuck with me."
9."I helped an old lady step down off of a curb, and then she couldn’t find her car in the parking lot (her husband parked it), so I helped her find it. When I walked her to it, she said, 'Your mother did a good job raising you.' My mother passed away when I was young, so when she said that...I got back to my car and I lost it."
10."The most meaningful compliment I received was given to me just after a funeral service. The widow of the deceased came to see me at the organ console before proceeding to the cemetery. She said, 'I just wanted to thank you for the uplifting music you played for my husband's funeral. It could've been a sad occasion, but instead your music turned it into a celebration of his life.'"
11."By far the most creative compliment I've received was, 'Your handwriting is so neat that if you'd been born before the invention of the printing press, you would have been in charge of writing books.'"
13."The first time I got fan mail for one of my books. It wasn't anything special, just someone saying they really liked it and that it made them smile, but the fact that someone went out of their way to tell me they liked my stuff was the best goddamn feeling."
14."One of my best friends said this to me when we were out to lunch: 'My mother always told me that we all need a moon and a sun in our lives. My friend is my moon, and I’ve always wondered when I’d find my sun, then I found you! You’re my sun.'"
16."When my boyfriend said, 'You’re beautiful' as I was sick, sneezing my head off, and being super gross. Something about hearing that when you don’t FEEL so beautiful is great."
17."A friend once told me it is a pleasure to know me, and that I am 'the type of friend everyone deserves to have.' That one meant a lot, hit me right in the feels."
18."I just told the music minister at our church that I was pregnant. She was so excited for me and she said, ‘I’m so happy for the world!’ It made me cry a bit..."
19."The 8-year-old my sister has nannied for four years once told me, 'I think you're as great for us as pizza is to the Ninja Turtles!' I know that I will never receive a better compliment than this in my life."
So, now it's your turn! What's the absolute BEST compliment you've ever received? It can be genuine, silly, or just plain weird. Share yours in the comments below!
