Very few things can brighten your day as nicely or as suddenly as a compliment. Although many of us often feel like we're simply gliding through life and that no one ever really notices us, many people do and they may even think rather highly of us, believe it or not!
After Redditor DanTheBMan asked the online community, "What compliment did you receive years ago that you still think about?"
Read on –– you'll find plenty to smile about.
"She stopped by..."
The most memorable compliment came from the widow of the deceased man directly after his funeral service.
She stopped by the organ console before proceeding to the cemetery. With a gentle smile, this lovely lady said:
"I just want to thank you for the uplifting music you played for my husband's funeral. You turned what could've been a very solemn, sad occasion into a true celebration of his life."
About a week later, the church received a substantial check from her for the music program and for us to perform Mozart's Requiem, with orchestra, in her husband's memory.
"When I saw her..."
While in middle school, I had this one teacher who I was very, very close with because she helped me cope with my mental illness. I talked to her every single day, and once I was in high school, we maintained contact until I was a sophomore. (She became the principal of a new school)
Freshman year of high school, I was in a mental hospital due to panic attacks that were so crippling I became suicidal. I really, really missed my teacher, but one day she surprised me at the hospital.
When I saw her, I started sobbing. I gave her a big hug, and we sat down to have a conversation. At one point while we were talking she said "I am so proud of you". I was confused because I was in the hospital for admitting I had a suicide plan. When I asked her why, she said "You reached out for help. You are so brave, and the strongest person I know."
I miss that woman so much, and I appreciate her for everything she did for me.
"I used to bring baked goods..."
I used to bring baked goods and dinners over to my elderly neighbor when he couldn't out of the house any longer. Prior to this, he would actually come to my house for dinner. Unfortunately, dementia was overtaking him near the end. Once when I had brought dinner over he asked me if I knew the lady next door. He told me she's an "excellent cook." I told him I did know her! So nice, still makes me smile.
"Every time I try..."
Every time I try to contribute to conversations, I feel like everyone in talks over and disregards me. Because of this, I make it my personal goal to give the person speaking/trying to be heard my full attention. One day, my friend was telling a story and no one was paying attention. She stopped short and said,
"Every time I talk, I look at you because I know you're listening to me and want to hear what I have to say. You don't know how much that means to me."
"I was walking down a major street..."
I was walking down a major street in a big city, with a big, blond mohawk, and enjoying not getting the glares I was used to in my smaller town, when a carload of girls drove by and one leaned out the window and screamed "Sexy hair, baby!"
"The most popular..."
Our MS and HS were in the same building (small school). The most popular senior girl was walking down the hall talking to her friend and stopped to look 7the grade me in the eye and told me she liked my scrunchie. Literally meant to much to me and since then I've tried to go out of my way to compliment people - friends, colleagues and strangers - when I think of a compliment.
"A girl in elementary school..."
A girl in elementary school said my eyes were pretty. But since she "hated my guts" she said she wanted to scoop out my eyes before she killed me.
She was always fun to chat with on bus ride home.
After that, I was told that I was smart by my sergeant when I was in the army. I was 19 at the time and all I did was answer a common sense question and he said I should try to become an NCO.
Those have been the only two meaningful compliments I've gotten in my life. I'm 28 now...
"Obviously..."
Half compliment half reward. I held open some door for an old white lady at a restaurant when I was like 9 or 10. Cause like why wouldn't you? But apperently she later asked the waiter to ask for me and explained that she rarely get the door held opened for her. Called me a nice child and gave me a $100 bill.
Obviously the reward was nice (iirc I think i bought a couple games). But what stuck with me was the fact that she rarely seen it done. From that point I decided being nice was the way to be, if only for a fleeting moment in people lives.
"My teacher said..."
My teacher said that she loves my smile. And she said that when I was a very insecure person.
"I used to obsess..."
I think for me it was getting compliments about having nice teeth and someone saying my teeth were "really white."
I've always been insecure about my teeth. As a kid they were really yellow, I guess from all the sodas and reluctance to brush and all the food coloring and all that jazz. I remember being insecure about it as early as 3rd grade but it got worse in 6th when working with a classmate.
We were working well together and joking around and as I laughed he just went deadpan and said "man your teeth are yellow." Not a joke. Not banter. Just an incredulous observation.
I used to obsess over it but I've calmed down a bit. Getting that compliment helped. My teeth don't need to be perfect. I think I just needed to cancel out that experience. I'm fine with average teeth. Having a coworker that didn't know me well at the time just unsolicited and incredulously be like "man your teeth are white how do you do it" was a friggin elixir.
Compliments can be powerful.
"A friend saw me without glasses..."
A friend saw me without my glasses for the first time and she said that I had really pretty eyes. Then she asked if she could draw me some time. Artists do a great job of making people feel great about themselves!
"At my first job..."
At my first job after college, I was chatting one day with some coworkers and my supervisor. We were talking about ACT/SAT scores and college admissions for some reason. I mentioned that I had had no interest in attending a fancy school like Harvard, but I had almost applied just to see what happened. My supervisor looked at me and said, "You should have. I bet you would have gotten in. You're so smart." I was blown away.
"An obviously distraught woman..."
An obviously distraught woman with a toddler was in front of me at grocery store. She was a few bucks short, being more impatient than generous, I said I'd make up the difference. The lady thanked me and left. The cashier said "I see you in here all the time, I always think you look like a nice person."
Made my day.
"I was working at Walgreens..."
I was working at Walgreens and ringing this little old lady out when she said "You have very nice ears." The sheer absurdity made it stick with me this whole time.
"I was walking to an event..."
I was walking to an event dressed in a seersucker suit and bow tie. I passed a guy on a street who said to his friend about me, "check this guy out, he's dressed fly as a mothaf*ckah!"
All time favorite compliment.
"When I was 14..."
When I was 14 I had some serious confidence issues. My closest friend at the time said, "I know you will refuse to accept any compliment, so I'll say your work is utter and total trash. Do you like that?" Of course I didn't, so she gave me an actual compliment. Of course I didn't fully accept it, but it was better received than most compliments given at the time.
"We were all just hanging out..."
We were all just hanging out one day and my ex's best friend told me I looked great - I had lost about 80 lbs at that point and the ex had never once said anything about my change. Really made me think about how much he didn't want me to be healthier, he liked having someone who was miserable with him.
"Later I heard her..."
One of the first times I opened the department at work, my manager came in late but was surprised to see I had it under control.
Later I heard her tell another department manager, 'I'm really glad I've got her on my team' about me!
"It took me aback..."
"Your Facebook is like a rainbow."
When I asked my brother what he meant by that, he said that my circle of friends were so diverse: straight, LGBTQ, caucasian, black, Asian, Muslims, Christians, agnostics, atheists....
It took me aback because I never even thought about it. It just was.
That was more than ten years ago and it still brings a smile to my face.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
