In honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, I want to talk about something that needs to be talked about: complimenting people's appearance.
A compliment is supposed to be positive. Things like "Your makeup looks good today!" or "You look so happy!" are good examples of constructive compliments.
What isn't a good compliment is saying something that you think they might want to hear. Things like "Are you ok? You look stressed" or "You look tired, is everything ok?"
Or even worse "You look so skinny! Have you been working out?
While these compliments might seem constructive, they are anything but. You never know what someone is going through. From personal experience, when I've been told "You look stressed," I've been under extreme stress and comments have caused me to snap. The girl you said that she looked so skinny will look in the mirror and still think she is not skinny enough. Sometimes even a compliment can set someone off.
Instead of saying "You look so skinny," say these 10 compliments instead.
"You're working so hard"
Not that you need someone to notice that you've been working hard to keep doing it. But it is nice to have someone notice your hard work, whether that's in school or in nutritional terms.
"You look healthy"
When I eat healthily, I feel healthy, but I rarely think about how it might look on the outside. Complimenting someone on something more than their makeup or clothing goes a long way.
"You look amazing"
As one does, I went all out for my senior prom. I remember someone told me that I looked amazing and I made me smile so big. It was unlike any of the compliments I'd ever received and I needed it.
"You're glowing"
When I feel happy, I look happy. But when someone compliments me on how happy I look? That's the absolute best thing ever.
"I'm proud of you"
Whether it's from someone that I look up to or one of my friends, nothing makes my heart melt more than hearing the words "I'm proud of you."
"I'm impressed with your dedication"
Sometimes when I'm working really hard, sometimes all I need is a little push to have me keep going. To have someone see and recognize how hard I'm working is the one of the best compliments.
"Your laugh makes me laugh"
If I;m laughing really hard my laugh starts to sound like a goose honking. I personally think it's the most unattractive laugh known to man, so to get this compliment truly makes me giggle like a school girl.
"Your smile lights up the room"
This is one of the best compliments anyone can every receive. It's awesome when someone notices your smile, but its even more awesome when someone compliments you on it.
"That outfit compliments you"
The best thing about this compliment is that it can mean a wide range of things. It can mean how the color of the outfit compliments your skin tone, how it looks on your body type, how confident you look in it...really anything!
"You inspire me"
I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks that they're too mediocre to inspire someone. As an older sister, I think about how I can inspire my younger sister to be the best person she could be. I hope to someday be someone's inspiration.
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