Transforming insults and epithets into the qualities they attack

One of the exercises in Vein of Gold is to take "damning and daunting words" spoken to us in the past and transform them into hidden strengths.

Here are some such words spoken to me in the past, and the hidden strength underlying each.



"Go, Jon, go!" (sarcastically, during floor hockey)
=> showmanship

"I'm going to call the cops" (our neighbour, on seeing my brother and I make a fort in the bushes)
=> imagination

"Instead of spending all that money on books, ..."
=> knowledge

"If you want to listen to music, go to the Royal Theatre, not there."
=> open-mindedness

"Ghetto. Just buy a Kinesis. My work one, at least, was a deductible business expense."
=> resourcefulness

"your suggestions are confusing. don't attempt to sound clever - the Fowlers names are crystal clear, and your names are opaque."
=> clear naming and clear thinking

"Hmmm... Not only is it web-enabled, it's also fucking ugly. Congratulations, moron."
=> vision

"Next time, don't contact the client without going through me"
=> efficiency

"That's too much."
=> generosity

"Please change the lines back."
=> aesthetic sense

"You are reading a book on interacting but apparently not applying it, resenting any computer stuff you do for a sick friend."
=> self-knowledge

"I am puzzled how some visitors influenced you to act so weird."
=> effervescence

"Don't apply Physics to God..."
=> ability to transplant concepts