Compliments: What Do They Cost and Can You Afford Them?

Good coaches know how to use it.

Boyfriends and girlfriends use it to get out of arguments.

Good managers use it to get the most productivity out of their workers.

Parents use it to build their children’s self confidence.

Compliments…

The most under estimated use of language today. What most people do not understand is that self image is one of the biggest keys to success. Every CEO, leader, professional player, and coach know one thing. They would not have made it to where they are today without self confidence.

The humorous part about self image is that you will always care more about your internal and external attractiveness than anyone else will. Just ask the 13 year old girl with her first blemish. It is hard to tell her the truth –most other 13 year old girls care about how they look, and will most likely never catch on to her blemish.

Humans are programmed to care about self image, and are prone to negative thoughts about self image every day.  It is a fact that poor self image can not only knock you into depression, but it will also have a huge impact on your illness. Being depressed can cause you to start eating those foods that you know will cause a flare up, cause you to not exercise, and cause you to loose friends because you are no fun to be around.

So what can you do?

It starts with caring about others.

How many compliments have you given out today? One or two? Can’t think of any? This is the start of the problem.

The bottom line: the best way to gain friendship and support is to give out compliments. Being genuinely nice is the start to feeling better about your own self image. It is that easy.

Remember, most people are thinking about themselves too much to care about giving you compliments, but guess what? When you give them compliments, their confidence will increase. They will genuinely like hanging out with you, being your friend, and in turn help you build your own self confidence.

So how much do compliments cost? A few seconds? It is remarkable how simple it is to make other people’s lives better.

Give it a shot!

Next time you are in the lunch line, driving through a toll booth, or finish a hard project at work; give out compliments! The risk is worth the reward.  All it takes is a few kind words.

Dave