On being great

This is a blog post I promised myself I'd write as an editorial counterblast to all the ones recently outlining my failings. This is about the things I admire about myself. And as I'm doing it as a list it's more me than any of the others.

1. I am nice. Properly nice, too. None of that pretend nice in order to get things. At the very least I'll be polite and discrete, and with people I know and trust I can be a delightful person. Nice is an underrated quality, I think.
2. I am funny. In all ways and in all meanings of the word. I will make people laugh somehow and that's a pretty good thing to be able to say.
3. Children and animals like me. They are very straightforward judges of character, too. They don't go in for politics, politeness or hidden agendas.
4. I am talented but more importantly I am generous with it. I love to give away the things I produce to my friends. They hardly ever complain at all.
5. I'm different. I'm not your typical male stereotype. And men bewilder me, so this fact makes me happy.
6. I like to be kind. Some people find this a little disarming. Many people accuse me of fishing for compliments in kind or such like which I find very upsetting because it's really never been my intention at all.
7. I don't play politics. There's no greatness of spirit at work here particularly, I just don't understand the way they work so have given up trying.
8. People and things genuinely interest, fascinate and excite me. I retain a childlike enthusiasm for many things.
9. Reading this list makes me a little uncomfortable and unsure if I want to post it. I think that may be the best quality I have of all. Now it's a question of finding the right balance.
10. I had to put a tenth thing in because I love lists.