It was my first youth retreat to lead. I thought I had packed enough
supplies, but didn’t realize how much toilet paper girls use! On
our way back down the mountain, we stopped at a McDonald’s. It
looked like everyone for miles around was coming back from a
retreat. It was extremely busy. So I got into what I thought was
the fastest line only to discover it was the slowest. People in line
were complaining about the girl taking the orders. It was awful
what they were saying. I wasn’t happy myself but a little grace
was needed. I looked at her and realized something; she wasn’t
lazy or slow, she was just having a bad day. When it was my turn,
she frantically looked up from the register and with a winded breath
said, “How can I help you?” I looked her in the eye and said,
“You know, for all the people in here I want you to know I think
you are doing a great job.” Her face went from abusive worry to
beautiful sunshine. With a huge smile, she said, “Thank you. What
can I get you!”
Just think what our world would be like if we gave
out more compliments and fewer complaints?
My compliment did something for that girl and to
anyone who receives a genuine compliment:
It gave her energy. She
looked so tired but after receiving my compliment, she perked up.
She received encouragement.
It may have restored her faith in others
She was probably encouraged to pay it forward
It brought healing to her soul
Do you want to overcome this downtime? Go out of your way to pay compliments. In doing so,
you will also be the beneficiary of the list above.
Take Action...try to compliment someone next week and reply here to let us know how things went.
(c) 2020 Wally Johnston
"Remember...there are only two kinds of people in this world. Those who like Dr. Pepper and those who don't."
That was a great story!! I also do things like that too. I also remember having a bad day and then someone said something to me that made my day better, after that I do that for others. I'm always telling bosses that their worker needs a raise, they just laugh at me but at least I gave them a brownie point.
ReplyDeleteSorry, this is so late. It is true what you said. Stay tuned.
DeleteDiane, isn’t it great to “pay it forward?
ReplyDelete