Give Somebody a Thumbs Up: Weekly Lifestyle Practice

Pay Someone a Compliment Each Day This Week

Simple Instructions:

• Starting Monday, you must compliment one person each day of the week.
• You may compliment anyone, friend or stranger, but it should be a different person each time.
• The compliment must be in person – no text or email compliments.
• There is no size of compliment required. Any kind word acknowledging another person will do.

Keep your eyes open. This practice won’t be hard if you look for the contributions people make:

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

— Leo Buscaglia

Why Is This Practice Important?

In our individualistic, gotta-get-mine world, we often fail to notice or acknowledge the efforts of people around us. We can be so focused on what we’re doing, that we don’t see the contributions of others – when someone goes out of their way for a stranger, creates a positive experience, or simply just looks nice.

Think about what it’s like for you when no one else notices – when you go the extra mile and it goes unacknowledged. You may be happy with your own effort, but everyone appreciates being acknowledged. It can put a smile on your face and lift your spirits. Getting a compliment is motivating, right? So why are we all so stingy when it comes to giving them to others?

Giving a compliment costs nothing, but the return can be huge. It will make the receiver feel good, but it will make you feel surprisingly good, as well. Imagine what the world would be like if you and everyone around you was sincerely acknowledged for your work or even just who you are. It’d be pretty awesome, if you ask me. So try to do it just once each day this week and see what a difference you can make.

Michael Stanwyck

Michael Stanwyck is the co-founder of The Whole Life Challenge, an idea that developed during his seven years as a coach and gym manager at CrossFit Los Angeles.

He graduated from UCLA with a BA in philosophy as well as a degree from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, and feels food is one of the most important parts of a life - it can nourish, heal, and bring people together.

Michael believes health and well-being are as much a state of mind as they are a state of the body, and when it comes to fitness, food, and life in general, he thinks slow is much better than fast (most of the time). Stopping regularly to examine things is the surest way to put down roots and grow.

He knows he will never be done with his own work, and believes the best thing you can do for your well-being starts with loving and working from what you’ve got right now.