What was the best compliment you’ve received?
I don’t believe in compliments like that anymore. If someone gives one sincerely, then yeah, it’s kind—it says more about them than it does about me. But I don’t need them, don’t look for them, and definitely don’t let them shape how I see myself. Compliments, when you strip them down, are just words. They don’t change who you are.
Younger me? Different story. Back then, a compliment—especially from a woman—felt like a superpower, like it charged me up, made me feel invincible. It was validation I didn’t even realise I was chasing. And when I got it, I’d bask in it, let it boost my confidence, as if it actually meant something. But in the end, it was empty. A fleeting high. And when you get caught up in that, you never stop looking for the next one. It’s never enough.
The world feeds you this lie, be proud, have an ego, build an identity around how others see you. But that’s a trap. Pride turns into ego, ego turns into a defence mechanism, and before you know it, you’re stuck inside your own illusion, protecting something that was never real to begin with. You start believing your own hype, and then one day, you catch yourself becoming the very thing you used to criticise in others. That’s when it hits you—none of it was real.
I’ve been there. Lived it. Seen it. And I’ve walked away from it. Now, I just focus on what actually matters. My family, my faith, my kids, giving to charity, earning a decent living, helping where I can—that’s enough. That’s all I need. Compliments don’t define me. They never did. What matters is the life I live, not the words people throw at me.
The Narratives - Mohamed Miah 
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