What Words of Yours Have Made an Impact?

This week's question was:

What single thing have you said that's had the most significant positive impact on another person?

The two biggest themes were:

Declarations of romantic love (marriage proposals & acceptances, e.g., "I do!")
Parents' unconditional love for their children

As far as romantic love goes, Wil Dalphin's answer took the cake:

"Maybe this will make you feel better."

The context of that quote is that my then girlfriend and I had just returned home from Thanksgiving, and she asked me if I wanted to break up with her. Apparently, while we visited my family briefly, my mother pulled her aside and told her that she didn't think I was very serious about my relationship with her, and that she should back off any pressure she was putting on me to commit. I knew nothing of this at the time until we came home and she asked me the question and started crying.

So I went into the bedroom and rifled through my sock drawer, pulling out the ring I'd hidden there and had planned to give her for Christmas. Came back into the living room and handed her the box, saying simply, "Maybe this will make you feel better."

That was basically my marriage proposal.

 

The most popular responses by far were from parents offering support and encouragement to their children:

‎Would you like to be a part of our family? (spoken to three young kids seeking a forever family)

—Jo Tuite

I am your mother. Nothing you could do would make me love you less. Go for it!

—Marilyn Slagel

‎One person—you—can change the world. Said to each of my children.

—Ruth Littner

Sometimes the support and encouragement came in the form of tough love:

#bbpBox_134685784669298688 a { text-decoration:none; color:#FF0000; }#bbpBox_134685784669298688 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }@November 10, 2011 12:36 pm via Mobile Web Reply Retweet Favorite Adrian Archer
#bbpBox_134684660608417793 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_134684660608417793 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }@November 10, 2011 12:31 pm via web Reply Retweet Favorite chris kenny

Other answers felt like they could be the opening line of a wonderful novel or personal essay. (Writers, take note.)

It's not your fault.

—Melody Layne

This isn't about you.

—Karen Adams

You can do better than that.

—Pablo Defendini

You need to get your power back.

—Dawn Herring

There's a third possibility. You could wind up being alone.

—Neal Powers

One person, rather than provide an answer, provided an alternative question that might be better than the original:

That is not an easy question. Maybe an easier one is "What single thing has someone said to you to that had the most positive impact?"

—Tammy Servies

So now I open BOTH questions up to you. What do you think?