Who Have You Complimented Lately?

Apparently my life isn’t nearly as exciting as I thought it was when I first started writing this blog. My weekly entries have now been stretched out to two weeks in between postings in order to come up with a story that won’t bore you (or me for that matter) to tears. I will try and lead a more interesting life to keep you entertained.

For those of you that know me, I am not the best at receiving compliments. I usually instill an “aw shucks” attitude when presented with compliments or situations of recognition. Last week I had several great things happen to me that got me thinking about giving and receiving compliments. First I received a request from a former colleague who asked me to recommend her on LinkedIn. I gladly wrote her a recommendation because she was a great teammate with my previous company and someone that I held/hold in high regard. She was also kind enough to write me a recommendation back that left me rather speechless. She went above and beyond with her comments and really made me feel great about our current and past relationship. Second, my current boss paid me some high praise in front of my peers during a one-day seminar. It was an incredibly validating experience to hear that the projects I have been working on were having the desired impact. Finally, a new colleague that I have recently formed a relationship with called me and asked for advice as it relates to skills I had exhibited with him in the past. It was very motivating and empowering to have someone that I respect, ask for my advice.

The reason I am mentioning these events is not to try and make myself look good amongst the half-dozens of people reading this right now. It is to help remind everyone how incredibly valuable compliments can be. We should all work to extend genuine, deserved compliments to colleagues, friends, family members and those that we interact with. The ego boost and feeling that accompanies a well deserved compliment can carry over through several days. And if you are thinking that this attitude is just a bit too rosy of a world outlook, then maybe you need to go out and pay someone a compliment. There are so many things occurring in the world right now that are beyond our control. But we can control and positively shape those around us by giving out sincere and deserved compliments. And in all honesty, what is the worst thing that can happen if we all started showing each other more appreciation?