Today is World Compliment Day! Compliments are meant to spread joy using simple verbal affirmations of appreciation – not physical but verbal. A compliment, essentially, is expressing admiration, compliments, encouragement, or respect. What better way to spread love than to make someone feel good about themselves? Complimenting someone involves a verbal expression – rather than material gifts – and it can really make someone’s day. When you give a compliment, you show other people that you appreciate all aspects of them – including appearance, actions, words, etc

Compliments feel good to give and receive and that is why those who give sincere, genuine compliments are typically more likeable by others, which can go a long way when wanting to succeed in your personal and professional life. If you’re looking for love or for a more positive experience in your social or professional life, compliments can really help.

The right compliment in the right scenario is generally taken more positively. In the wrong context, you might come off as insincere and creepy and maybe even unwelcome. Keeping your agenda out of it is an important way of doing that. For instance, telling someone they are attractive because you genuinely think they are or maybe they just got their hair done and you want to tell them is a good thing, telling them they are hot only because you want to be intimate with them does not come off as positive for most people (and most often than not will not get you the results you are looking for!). Context definitely means a lot!

When giving compliments, sincerity and specificity are also extremely important. When you are not sincere, people know it and it comes off very negatively. One way of really sounding genuine is attaching a compliment to something someone values or worked hard on, something tangible. Telling someone you really enjoyed reading something they wrote and WHY you enjoyed it means a lot more than saying “good for you for writing something”. If there is something that they are proud of or passionate about that is another good place to start.

If you are looking for examples of compliments, here are some ideas (you can find more here):

• you’re an awesome friend,
• I’m grateful for you,
• you look fantastic today,
• you are strong,
• you are smart,
• I really like your perspective on “x”,
• your kindness makes such an impact,
• I really appreciated how you handled that situation,
• I love being around you, etc

Many people are uncomfortable receiving compliments (me being one of them). If you are one of these people, normalize saying “thank you” when someone compliments you. Also, you might want to explore why they make you uncomfortable.

Compliments are a great way of reaching your goals, demonstrating love and being a likeable person. Find ways to incorporate compliments into your daily life.

TRY THIS: Write down what you genuinely appreciate about people in your life and tell them.

POST IT NOTE: I will compliment others in an authentic way

Click for recorded segment exclusively on BlastTheRadio.com: COMPLIMENT [8:11 mins]

READERS: What are your thoughts on this? Please share in the comments!

One.Step.At.A.Time.

Suzie