Put a little NICE in the world today

I found this SUPER AWESOME author who works as a "Standardized Patient". Her job is to act out different disorders with a 10-12 page script. Medical students guess her illness according to the symptoms that she plays.

It is an extremely interesting read and I recommend it to all. Click here for the link to her website.
It is long, but I love it!


She discusses the idea of empathy and how it plays in our relationships with other people. What do we feel when another person feels pain or anguish from their own experiences? What do we say to them? How do we treat them after?
It's an endless amount of questions and to be completely honest, the answer is never the same for every person.


I was reading this article that talked about why we need to compliment people more in our life. They discussed scientific proof stating that "social rewards directly enhance skill consolidation in humans and research suggests that they have a novel functional effect on the human motor memory system."

We like it when people compliment us.

I mean, c'mon, you wore that cute dress that you just bought and got all dolled up so you could impress someone. (sometimes I dress up and take a picture and send it to my mom so she will tell me how cute I am-desperate, I know)

But the article considered the idea that complimenting each other shouldn't be for one's personal gain or satisfaction. "Taking an extra moment to not only notice something positive in another human but also express that positivity out loud (without ulterior motives)". I think that is where the empathy part plays a role. We don't have to feel bad for someone who looks awful and compliment their shoes because we think that they think they look awful. No. Don't do that.

Think of it more like this-

"Empathy isn't just something that happens to us- a meteor shower of synapses firing across the brain- it's also a choice we make: to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It's made of exertion, that dowdier cousin of impulse."

I believe that if we were to pay closer attention to people, to "extend ourselves" to others, and choose to acknowledge someone else's greatness (not putting ourselves down, or comparing ourselves to that individual), both can experience a happy moment that they will remember.

According to Professor Norihiro Sadato, a study lead and professor at the National Insitute for Physiological Sciences in Japan said, "To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money. We've been able to find scientific proof that a person performs better when they receive a social reward after completing an exercise. Complimenting someone could become an easy and effective strategy to use in the classroom and during rehabilitation."

Now, when I read this report from Professor Sadato, I immediately think of all those people who get compliments for their athleticisms and talents, and then botch up because they let it "get to their head". But then I think, they still did a good job and they deserve to be complimented for their accomplishments.


Don't be stingy with your compliments. Or your kindness.

There is no shame in making someone else feel good about themselves and being honest about your feelings and admiration for another.

Let's vocalize some awesome kindness!