By Jack Vigue Compliments are stressful. Many of us feel awkward when we accept compliments because we don’t know what to say. We tend to deflect compliments at times because we don’t want to come off as arrogant to others. It is difficult for many people to accept compliments due to the internalized fear of boasting; this leads to the common tendency to explain away compliments. However, compliments, even from yourself, are beneficial. Acknowledging wins, even small ones, can boost motivation and mood. Positive feedback can decrease stress and better someone’s working habits. Research suggests that praise boosts motivation and improves memory for new skills. Receiving compliments and getting credit for a job well done is highly rewarding; this helps the brain accomplish more. As people stress over what to say when someone gives a compliment, keep it simple; an easy response is “thank you”. Yet, it is okay to not always receive a compliment from someone; self-recognition is still important. The feeling one has after completing a project brings great elation and happiness. To improve motivation, productivity, creativity, and mood, create a list of accomplishments rather than a to-do list. Keeping track of achievements are very helpful in our personal lives; for example, during future rough patches, we can go back to see what we can accomplish. It is also extremely important to record positive achievements because our brain tends to disregard them. Receiving compliments are important for our well being and being able to accept them is beneficial to our mood. Studies show that meaningful praise is advantageous; it helps the brain’s ability to remember and repeat new skills. However, research also shows that we tend to dwell on negativity and failures compared to positivity and accomplishments. Dr. Amabile studies the impact of daily events on one’s productivity and inner work life. They found that the small moments of progress were the most impactful in our lives. Dr. Amabile’s team also found that personal satisfaction had a stronger impact that external praise; this is if employees felt like the compliments they received didn’t connect with the work they valued. Dr. Chris Cascio, a journalism professor, studied participants and their reactions towards meaningful things. Dr. Cascio found that when participants subconsciously cared about something and then were shown messages encouraging new exercise habits had areas in their brain light up that are connected with reward and self-motivation. The area in the brain associated with reward is our dopamine pathways. Specifically, the VTA (ventral tegmental area) which is one of the principle dopamine-producing areas in the brain. Dopamine is mainly involved with our happiness. These experiments show that praise and compliments are beneficial in both our personal lives and in the workplace. Many different factors can be stressful in live: school, work, family, etc. However, this study of using compliments and praise to boost positivity is extremely helpful in life. Praising people after small or large accomplishments lead to better lives all around. This study depicts how to be comfortable with accepting compliments. Many of us are stressed about being too arrogant, but knowing how to accept a compliment can relieve a lot of stress and even promote positivity. The studies also describe how to boost motivation by being able to talk with those close to you about your accomplishments. This could mean talking with your family or friends weekly about what progress you made for that week; this can help with being comfortable about accepting praise without boasting. The ability to talk with others like teachers, family, and friends about your accomplishments with ease is beneficial. By being able to do this, interviews will be much easier because you are able to talk about your accomplishments without feeling stressed out. Also, these studies show that in the result, people who easily accept praise by others and themselves are more susceptible to being able to apprehend criticism in a constructive way. We all deserve compliments, and we all need to be able to accept them from friends, family, teachers, co-workers, and ourselves. This will benefit our lives by boosting mood, motivation, positivity, and productivity. Compliments and praise also help us keep moving forward in our lives rather than stepping back. Consider the positive effects compliments have, and take that into account the next time someone gives you a compliment. When you say “hey” to someone in the hall, give them a compliment; it will brighten their day. Learn to accept compliments, even from yourself, because you deserve them. Articles Used: (NYT article)
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Ms. Carrigan's Psych ClassWe have been reading articles about psychological studies to inform the way we live our lives. Please explore, and we hope you learn a bit about the psychology in your life! Categories
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November 2019
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