Here’s the situation.

I had done something fairly nice for this person I know. It’s no big deal and I didn’t want this person to give me money or anything.

She asked how she could repay me. I told her to pay it forward. I explained that to ‘pay it forward’ is to do something special and nice for someone else (who wasn’t me).

She said she’s already does nice things for people so she doesn’t have to do anything.

That didn’t sit well to me. I mean, I like that she is nice to people but continuing to be how she is doesn’t exactly pay her debt to me in full.

How would you explain ‘pay it forward’ to someone so they comprehend the actual full meaning?

I know that my communication ability was probably at fault but I wanted to tell this girl that she was stupid. It’s just a gut reaction I suppose. That’s why I’m trying to figure out how to explain it better.