The Power of Compliments

So this week, we have National Compliment Day on Friday, January 24th. It actually got me thinking: genuine and sincere compliments are rare to come by. I especially witnessed this after moving to India, where most of the compliments I receive are based on stuff the complimenter believes or has emphasized in conversation before. For example, if I’m wearing something that was suggested by someone else, I’ll get complimented by that same someone that it is looking nice. While I’m extremely thankful for any compliment I receive, part of me is also like “of course you feel it’s nice, you suggested it” or “you picked it.” That being said, giving a sincere compliment with nothing else in your mind has a huge impact on your outlook. In fact, the outlook is so positive, that we should give compliments more often, and here’s why:

You’ll Brighten Someone’s Day: Let’s start with the obvious: giving a compliment will brighten someone’s day. A person’s face instantly lights up and that compliment will last with them for a long time. Basically, you become a source of happiness and positivity for someone else. This simple behavior of appreciating someone around you has a snowball effect and positivity will spread.

You Become more Positive: The sheer nature of compliments allows us to express gratitude and see the good in others. Therefore, you end up acknowledging something that makes you happy, and seeing others light up because of a compliment YOU gave, which ultimately fills us with happiness. In the end, what goes around, comes back around, and we just become better, kinder people overall.

Enhance our own Self Confidence: Continuing with the point above, giving genuine compliments to others enhances our own self-confidence. We are appreciate the good in others, and by doing so we begin to see the good in ourselves. Through seeing the good in ourselves we appreciate ourselves more and ultimately become more confident.

Words are powerful. They can bring significant positive change. However, complimenting tends to get lost in the rush of everyday life. So with National Compliment Day, let’s challenge ourselves to consciously compliment on a daily basis. Start with just one a day and work your way up! You got this!