--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you can't get a compliment any other…" description: "\"If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png" --- # If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself… ![“If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png) > “If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages self‑validation by giving oneself praise when external affirmation is lacking. **In simple terms:** Give yourself compliments if none come. Key Takeaway Practice self‑praise regularly. Themes self‑esteem confidence self‑care Mood motivational self‑affirming Type inspirational personal growth When to use this quote - daily journal - goal achievement - stress relief - confidence building Key Concepts self‑validation positive self‑talk inner dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What genuine achievements can you celebrate today? - How does self‑praise affect your motivation? A Different Perspective Self‑praise can feel insincere without genuine achievement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compliment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliment/) [Compliment Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliment-way-3159299/) [Compliments you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliments-you/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Payment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/payment/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The people who support me are so great! They all say such nice things that make me feel really great. I love it when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-butler/the-people-who-support-me-are-so-great-they-all-say-such-nice-things/) [Austin Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-butler/) > [If someone didn't believe in me that would kind of be a compliment in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hamby/if-someone-didn-t-believe-in-me-that-would-kind-of-be-a-compliment-in/) [Barbara Hamby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hamby/) > [You're better off owning 30 percent and having two amazing partners who compliment you and are equally as driven as you are than having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dyrdek/you-re-better-off-owning-30-percent-and-having-two-amazing-partners/) [Rob Dyrdek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dyrdek/) > [It's great when talented people in the world, in the same business, can see your work and compliment you on what you're doing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-taylor-johnson/it-s-great-when-talented-people-in-the-world-in-the-same-business-can/) [Aaron Taylor-Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-taylor-johnson/) > [The compliments you are about to pay could only sadden me, because what you love in our dear peninsula is exactly the object of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filippo-tommaso-marinetti/the-compliments-you-are-about-to-pay-could-only-sadden-me-because/) [Filippo Tommaso Marinetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filippo-tommaso-marinetti/) > [But even considering these, I have great confidence in our young people as a whole. I regard you as the finest generation in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/but-even-considering-these-i-have-great-confidence-in-our-young/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/don-t-waste-your-time-on-jealousy-sometimes-you-re-ahead-sometimes/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) > [Too often we underestimate the power of a touch...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/too-often-we-underestimate-the-power-of-a-touch/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Compliments you pay to yourself aren't worth having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-thalberg/compliments-you-pay-to-yourself-aren-t-worth-having/) [Irving Thalberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-thalberg/) > [When someone compliments you, listen, but don't believe it. Praise or blame are immaterial. You know what you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-someone-compliments-you-listen-but-don-t-believe-it-praise-or/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't accept your compliment. You see, I'm an atheist, so if I'm also God, that would mean that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/thank-you-but-i-m-afraid-i-can-t-accept-your-compliment-you-see-i-m/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [Listening is as important as talking. If you're a good listener, people often compliment you for being a good conversationalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/listening-is-as-important-as-talking-if-you-re-a-good-listener-people/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [I think one artist to another artist, the best compliment you can pay one another, because the part of you that is inspired or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-chappelle/i-think-one-artist-to-another-artist-the-best-compliment-you-can-pay/) [Dave Chappelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-chappelle/) > [If you're criticized then you can use it as an experience. Compliments, you can't use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/if-you-re-criticized-then-you-can-use-it-as-an-experience-compliments/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [Having people be impressed with a house is not a compliment. You don't want them to say, 'What a place!' You want them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-denning/having-people-be-impressed-with-a-house-is-not-a-compliment-you-don-t/) [Robert Denning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-denning/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Compliment quotes > [Hot legs, bring your Mother, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/hot-legs-bring-your-mother-too/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [I see the joy in life and I see the joy in simple things. I over-compliment. I over-praise. I over-express my feelings toward people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-lansing/i-see-the-joy-in-life-and-i-see-the-joy-in-simple-things-i-over/) [Sherry Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-lansing/) > [The words I LOVE YOU, sometimes fooled us... But when someone says I TRUST YOU.. That's a better compliment, a true care with faith...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reolope/the-words-i-love-you-sometimes-fooled-us-but-when-someone-says-i/) [Janet Reolope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reolope/) > [Sometimes after a compliment about my characterization skills, I'm asked if I model my characters on real people. Emphatically, no. And sort of, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/sometimes-after-a-compliment-about-my-characterization-skills-i-m/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I've got the public. I don't care about the critics. I did at one time. I don't any more. I did when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-got-the-public-i-don-t-care-about-the-critics-i-did-at-one-time/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [When one is frank, one's very presence is a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-is-frank-one-s-very-presence-is-a-compliment/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Well, I think every now and again, some people deserve to get their butts chewed. Every now and again some people deserve a pat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-i-think-every-now-and-again-some-people-deserve-to-get-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are searching for the same thing,” Stripey said. “How do you know?” Janco asked. “I read his mind.” The Sitian pointed to Ari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/we-are-searching-for-the-same-thing-stripey-said-how-do-you-know/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [“Even if you are a pompous ass with no respect for authority, you're worth fifty men, and I mean to see you in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcclellan/even-if-you-are-a-pompous-ass-with-no-respect-for-authority-you-re/) [Brian McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcclellan/) > [You're better off owning 30 percent and having two amazing partners who compliment you and are equally as driven as you are than having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dyrdek/you-re-better-off-owning-30-percent-and-having-two-amazing-partners/) [Rob Dyrdek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dyrdek/) > [The three of us just try put our heads down and stay creative. The awards truly are just cake. It's one of those things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-scott/the-three-of-us-just-try-put-our-heads-down-and-stay-creative-the/) [Hillary Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-scott/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I've made this conscious decision to tell people on the street when I think they're wearing something great. If more people did that, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/i-ve-made-this-conscious-decision-to-tell-people-on-the-street-when-i/) [Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/) > [“Why did you decide to be an architect?" "I didn't know it then. But it's because I've never believed in God." "Come on, talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/why-did-you-decide-to-be-an-architect-i-didn-t-know-it-then-but-it-s/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Browse all 1,338 Compliment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other-way-pay-yourself-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compliment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other-way-pay-yourself-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/mark-twain-22_compliment_if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other_2068837.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you can't get a compliment...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other-way-pay-yourself-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-can-t-get-a-compliment-any-other-way-pay-yourself-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```