Receiving Compliments and Passing Them On

Tom Davis offered a wonderful practice for interacting with compliments in response to an earlier inquiry into compliments:

When Malcom Forbes was awarded the first ever GQ Manstyle award he said something like, "We most appreciate those awards we least deserve."

So I always try to remind myself of that when someone gives me a compliment. If the compliment is something which seems easy for me to do, then maybe I do deserve it, so I should be thankful and thoughtful that maybe that's an area I can use as a gift to help others for which it does not come easily. And if the compliment pleases me enormously, then be thankful for the compliment but realize that maybe there are others who are more deserving and that I should pass a compliment on to them sometime soon.

I love this extended invitation to pass on a compliment that feels good and yet I still see room for me to grow in that area. I love how that opens my eyes to recognizing my mentors, teachers, inspirations... and whole-heartedly sharing a compliment.

Thank you, Tom