Complimentary

Have you complimented anyone today yet?  Have you sincerely told someone something good about themselves, something that they do well, something that makes them stand out?  All of us have some qualities and do some things that are deserving of compliments, yet other people seem to feel that we don't need those compliments for some reason.  They seem to think that we're doing okay without the compliments, so why bother paying one to us?

We, for our part, tend to see other people as doing fine, too.  Often we see them as doing much better than we are, so why would they need a compliment from us?  So when they do something really cool or really nice, we neglect to say, "Wow, that was a really cool thing for you to do."  When we see something they do well, we neglect to say, "Boy, you're really good at that!" or, "I really admire the way you took care of that situation."

Compliments are free, too--they don't cost anything at all to give.  So imagine what the return on your investment will be when you give something for free and see appreciation, good feelings, and positive emotions in response to your words.

Of course, compliments must be sincere if they're to have any meaning at all.  And using sarcasm in the form of a "compliment" is a sure way to hurt someone rather than helping them (not to mention that it will undermine your credibility in the future!).

We have many powerful tools in our lives for creating and maintaining positive and uplifting energy.  The compliment is one of the most effective tools of all, and isn't it time that we made the sincere compliment one of our most-used tools in our lives?

There is a sad tendency in our world today
for persons to cut one another down.  Did you
ever realize that it does not take very much
in the way of brainpower to make remarks that
may wound another?  Try the opposite of that.
Try handing out compliments.

Gordon B. Hinckley