One Sincere Compliment Goes a Very Long Way
by Wendy Keller, wanna-be philanthropist
Is there someone in your life who gives you compliments? A friend, perhaps, or maybe someone you work with? Seeing them makes you smile. Probably, that person is well-liked, even popular, and everyone seems to get along with them.
Most people feel a little twinge of happiness when someone compliments them, even if they don’t believe the compliment!
Which got me to thinking: how often do I compliment other people? I compliment people I love, people I work with, people whose work I admire. Sometimes, I compliment a stranger’s shoes or her dress. I compliment my precious daughter. But I was startled to realize that I spend almost no time at all complimenting myself! In fact, just the opposite. I find plenty of room for improvement in myself.
Are you the same way? Do you compliment others but rarely yourself? Or worse, do you hoard compliments entirely, giving none away?
The sages say we only get what we give. Givers Gain. So what would happen if you decided to dish out compliments to 5 random people today? Could both of us even dredge up 5 sincere compliments to give ourselves?
It seems I’m so busy rushing from what I must do now to what I must do next, I hardly ever savor a job well done. Like most women, I look in the mirror and think about all the things I need to cover up, patch up or have sewn up. I think so much about where I’m going, I sometimes forget to be happy about where I’ve gotten. (Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to write this so honestly and know I’m going to post it for everyone to read?)
I propose we start complimenting ourselves and others more often.
Let’s see who can “win” by giving the largest number of sincere compliments to others – and ourselves. It has to be a 1:1 ratio! Over the next week, every compliment you give someone else, you have to give one sincere compliment to yourself. Come back and post here if you want – the pairs of compliments and their number. Something about doing it publicly makes it more real, trust me! (Gulp!)
Who’s up for it?
To get more love and appreciation in your life, you’ve got to prime the pump – let’s get started right now!