Why you should stop bashing people who fish for compliments

I get it. It can be incredibly annoying when someone is always fishing for a compliment. You know the kind of people I am talking about, right?. We all know some of those people. They are constantly putting themselves down and self-criticizing. Their hair could look amazing, yet they will complain about how horrible it looks in hopes you will respond by disagreeing and providing reassurance that their hair actually looks fabulous. Another example would be a person who constantly says they are awful at something such as their job or a sport. Regardless of the topic or why they are putting themselves down, they have one end goal: for you to lift to them up and make them feel better. They crave compliments.

If you meet someone new and they are fishing for compliments then it can sometimes be difficult to tell. However, if you have known someone for a while then you have probably been around them long enough to recognize their personality traits so if they fish for compliments they probably do this often. If this is something you have picked up on then you may have handed out a few compliments here and there but if you have acknowledged this is a common behavior of this person then chances are you don’t want to feed into it. You don’t want to boost their ego. They may come across as arrogant or maybe even narcissistic. You probably shy away from giving them what they want.

Although this can be rather frustrating and something you don’t want to deal with, I challenge you to actually feed into it. I challenge you to give them lots of compliments. Give them as many as you can, as often as you can. Do you know why? Because they need them. They need them because they are feeling a certain type of way that is preventing them from feeling good about themselves. Perhaps they feel down or depressed. Maybe they were bullied or they encountered a certain type of trauma they never got over. Maybe they have an insecurity they just can’t seem to knock. Whatever the case may be, you have the power to turn their day around. You may not realize how effective or how much impact your words may have but I promise they can make a huge difference not only in someone’s mood but possibly even in their life! Words are powerful and they have the power to stick. Lift them up. Make them feel good. Remind them of how great they are.

There are so many people living day by day in a world full of depression. They are trapped amongst their pessimistic thoughts and negative mindset. Anxiety is common. Depression is common. Unhappiness in common. Suicide is common. Your words have power. Use them.