Over the last week, I found myself facing several opportunities to laugh at myself. When I did, I did it in my typical Adrianne fashion and laughed loudly. Case in point, yesterday I was singing along to the radio at the top of my lungs while we were headed to the mall. The Kid was thrilled at my sheer talent, and told me that I made her want to cut her ears off. We both had a good laugh when I pointed out that would do nothing since she would still hear me. 😉
On that note of compliments… Have you ever given someone a sincere compliment? Not just a thank you but more than that. One that is from the heart, that you didn’t have to give. Maybe you even had to go out of your way to tell them. One where you paid the compliment and didn’t expect anything in return for yourself. Not only does it give the other person a warm fuzzy feeling, but it pretty much can make your day too.
Many of us have experience with providing constructive feedback of others. Personally I’m the queen of sarcasm, particularly when it comes to the driving skills of others. Oh, so you DO have a turn signal! Come on, it’s the pedal on the right and you need to learn to use it. Occasionally we pay each other complements about every day things. The little things like telling someone thank you or that they are wearing a pretty dress is nice. What if we went beyond that into more meaningful praise of others?
For the past couple weeks, I’ve needed to send an email to a company to tell them thank you and let them know how amazing their product is. It’s been on my to do list for a while but I just never got around to it. Last week I finally decided to get off my backside and put the email together in honor of Keeping a Contented Heart for the Happiness Project. I put together a heartfelt email telling them just how much their product meant to me and how incredible it was.
I provided details on exactly the difference that it made and how much it meant to me. I was completely floored when the owner herself emailed me back. Talk about customer service! She explained that she had left a full time job to start the company about a year ago and was thrilled to know that her efforts were in fact paying off. She said that hearing from people like me made her realize that she was on the right path. If this snippet from the email doesn’t warm your heart… seriously. 🙂
We had an email exchange that left both of us smiling and me grateful that I’d taken the time to send it. I also wished I’d sent the email two weeks ago instead of never finding the time. I was glad that she had let me know the impact of my short email as it made my day to know that I’d made a difference to her. Both of us could have gone on our merry way and not bothered with acknowledging the other, but I’m very glad we didn’t take that path.
I challenge you to go out of your way and Give Positive Praise to others. Did someone make a difference to you? Did someone help out when they didn’t have to? Tell them, but don’t stop at a simple thank you. Tell them why it made such a difference and the impact that it had for you. Do it without expectations of a response. You never know, you just might make their day which definitely boosts your own happiness.
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