Don’t Worry, I’ll Never Get Tired of It

Blogging, dan ariely, happiness, humor, lessons learned, reading, writing 1 Minute

It was a good week, thanks to Dan Ariely. I was able to use two letters from his advice column to create two posts.

In case you missed it, here is the first one about putting your camera away when you are trying to create memories.

And here is the second:

Dear Dan,

My fiancé is an excellent cook, and every meal he makes for us is delicious. I’m always giving him compliments, but I worry that over time they will be less meaningful because he’ll get used to them. How can I continue to praise his cooking in a way that shows I mean it? —Sydney

Here was Dan’s answer:

I wouldn’t worry too much about your fiancé getting used to your compliments. Research shows that receiving compliments is very motivating and that people who give them usually underestimate their impact on the recipient. One study that looked specifically at frequent compliments found they didn’t lose their effectiveness as long as they weren’t identical each time. So keep the compliments coming, but make sure to switch them up from time to time.

I wholeheartedly agree with Dan. I never get tired of compliments.

And I wouldn’t even care if the compliments were identical each time.

So go ahead, compliment away.

In fact, you can just copy and paste the following if you want:

Great post, Jim. One of your best ever. Loved the insight and the humor.

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

Published

69 thoughts on “Don’t Worry, I’ll Never Get Tired of It”

  1. I think the key to giving any compliment is that it has to be sincere. Here’s my compliment for you: I’m still a regular on your blog because of the various and unpredictable topics you find to write about. I also like your self-deprecating humor.

    Liked by 3 people

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  10. At the risk of turning this into a Trump cabinet meeting… Great post, Jim. One of your best ever. Loved the insight and the humor. 😄

    I think actions speak louder than words as far as what people like whether cooking or blogging or whatever.

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. I hear Twitter is looking for new customers. Please leave your application. Oh, be sure to tell us how smart you are. Include lots of references to nobody’s seen… 😎

        Liked by 2 people

      3. I and many others follow your blog on a daily basis because it is unique, always interesting and informative, and one of the best blogs out there. Keep up the great work at least until you hit the jackpot with more tire posts and retire to your private island in the Caribbean. 😊

        Liked by 3 people

    1. another comment, from salsaworldtraveler, also mentions Trump. I had completely missed the obvious connection between Trump and looking for compliments. Hopefully that is the only thing I have in common with him. and thanks for the kind words 🙂

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  12. Great post, Jim. One of your best ever. Loved the insight and the humor.

    To add to the conversation… I’ve always made a point to complement my wife for cooking because she does 90% of the meals and I’m genuinely grateful that I don’t need to focus on this task.

    As she is from a family that isn’t used to giving compliments it’s nice to see her transform from saying ‘oh, it’s nothing…’ to ‘thank you.’

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  14. Lol, I too never tire of compliments, no matter what it’s about, and who it’s from. Even if people are obviously greasing me up for something, I’ll still take it. Anyway, great post, Jim! Love your thoughts as always.

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  16. I am glad that your posts are so much more exciting than numbers! I would repeat what Tippy said, but he repeated it once,twice,3x already! LOL!

    Compliments are a great thing indeed, we all need them! They are fun to give and to receive. 🙂 Keep up the great work!

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