Compliment a stranger...

Have you ever had a stranger compliment you, and it just kind of made your day?

The fact that someone you have never met in your life, and most likely never will, took time out of their day to make you feel special.


It's always an ego boost.

One day, I received a comment on a picture of mine on Instagram and the stranger called me beautiful. (not the picture, but I lost a lot of my early Instagram posts!)
At that time, I was probably in the worst place with my self esteem than I have ever been, and just reading this comment from an onlooker who doesn't know the slightest thing about me; well she made my day, week, month, heck even my year. I saved a screen capture with her comment (but unfortunately lost it because of crappy iPhone!) because it made me feel special. Up until that point the only people who had called me beautiful were my mum and James Blunt.

Why do compliments from strangers make you feel so good? I mean, when people that you know compliment you, it's just not the same. Compliments from strangers stick, linger, even alter our self-perceptions. Mine certainly lingered! I also admire people who compliment strangers. It takes a lot of guts, even if they only do it online. 

Around the same time as the Instagram comment, a guy came up to me and said "there's just something about you that I find to be memorising" and then he was promptly shooed away by a friend. But still, his little compliment, on my first night out for around 6 months made me feel incredible and for the rest of the night, I was confident and really enjoyed myself, and I don't think I would have if it wasn't for him.

Whenever I am feeling a little down, it's always nice to look back at that Insta picture, or remember that night out, because it's the little things that make you smile. 

What I'm getting at is, compliment strangers. Because you never know who's shitty day you might transform. In my opinion a compliment is a gift, so don't go throwing them around, and only say it when you mean it.

See a guy on the bus who's shirt you really like? Tell him. He might be on his way to a blind date set up by a mate and is really nervous, but you've just made him feel 10x more confident about it. Or you might just get his number. Result.

At the end of the day, what is there to lose?

Browse a random hashtag, compliment someone hair.
See someone looking a little sad, compliment them on their shoes. always a good one.

I have a habit of when I'm saying hi to someone, I always compliment them. If it's the first thing they hear from you, they wont be expecting it and they will enjoy it even more.

"Hi! Oh I love how you've done your hair today!"
"Hey! your skin looks incredible. It's flawless!"

So I challenge you to compliment a stranger.

Becky xo