I don't know why, but I really love hearing compliments from people! For some reason, it uplifts my mood and brings a huge smile on my face. Add to that, an increased drive to achieve certain goals engulfs my brain as well. When someone tells you that you have a beautiful heart, you are a good writer, or you are aging like fine wine, it does indeed impact you tremendously. Scientifically, it activates the ventral striatum and the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, which play major roles in activating a response towards any type of reward.

Surprisingly, a Japanese researcher, Sho K. Sugawara from the National Institute of Physiological Sciences revealed that a compliment mirrors a social reward such as money which can elevate levels of learning behavior. Who knew receiving compliments can really cause a major change in a person's behavior? Actions do speak louder than words and so does compliments. If you are the one giving the compliment, then you end up becoming the person who could possibly turn someone's not-so-great day into a great one. This is an incredible feeling to have and I would encourage everyone to squeeze in a few compliments during their social interactions. You can present them with one of the sweetest and purest gifts ever with just a simple gesture.

Compliments can be either positive or merely constructive criticism. As we all know, we often look forward to hearing lovey-dovey and positive compliments as opposed to constructive criticisms. That was the case with me when I was younger. Back then, I used to constantly frown at the thought of hearing something negative and even after hearing constructive criticisms. Fast forward to today, I'm leaning towards embracing constructive criticisms as words of valuable feedback and compliments. In other words, the upcoming future might actually end up becoming more desirable in keeping these criticisms and compliments in mind!