Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when somebody does a good job at something,
Speaker 1: say so. No one dislikes having their efforts noticed, so
Speaker 1: a simple compliment can go a long way. So I
Speaker 1: have heard people joke that they love going to the
Speaker 1: dentist because the hygienist compliments their oral hygienes so generously. Now,
Speaker 1: perhaps brushing twice a day and flossing doesn't really amount
Speaker 1: to going above and beyond, but it is rare that
Speaker 1: we get complimented for doing life's necessities. I'm sure that
Speaker 1: anyone working at a dentist's office has seen far worse
Speaker 1: that you are doing well, and I see why these
Speaker 1: folks who have been complimented are then correspondingly happy to
Speaker 1: schedule that next appointment. People do a lot of stuff
Speaker 1: in life, and much of it is thankless. No one
Speaker 1: tells me good job for brushing my four year old's
Speaker 1: teeth or making sure my middle schoolers get on the
Speaker 1: bus on time in the morning. No one tells me
Speaker 1: good job for filing my taxes on time, and we
Speaker 1: generally don't expect praise for these sorts of things, but
Speaker 1: that makes it all the nicer when it does happen.
Speaker 1: So why not be that person for someone else. If
Speaker 1: your neighbors have trimmed the vines on their siding and
Speaker 1: it looks a lot neaterer, tell them that, wow, good
Speaker 1: job on the landscaping. It's looking great. If the barista
Speaker 1: spels your complicated name correctly, say wow, I'm impressed. Most
Speaker 1: people don't get that. If your spouse it's a job
Speaker 1: interview somewhere, even if he or she has been going
Speaker 1: on dozens, go ahead and say good job for this
Speaker 1: one too. A simple wow, you are rocking it text
Speaker 1: will suffice, because really, why not? No one knows what
Speaker 1: tomorrow will bring. A tree could fall on your neighbor's
Speaker 1: roof and the vines will be the least of anyone's worries.
Speaker 1: Maybe that coffee shop will close and you will never
Speaker 1: see that barista to compliment her again. Maybe your spouse
Speaker 1: won't get a second interview and you will have missed
Speaker 1: the opportunity to say good job on the first one.
Speaker 1: I think maybe the reason we are stingy with praise
Speaker 1: is that we feel people should do what they are
Speaker 1: supposed to do anyway, and perhaps there is something to that.
Speaker 1: I know. I do not generally say good job if
Speaker 1: my husband has managed to put the four year old
Speaker 1: to bed, because I believe he should be doing this
Speaker 1: exactly half the time by default. I guess I don't
Speaker 1: want to imply that it isn't his job. But on
Speaker 1: the other hand, I wind up putting that kid to
Speaker 1: bed a lot, and I wouldn't mind if someone told
Speaker 1: me good job, even if it is my job. So
Speaker 1: there's no real reason not to compliment things that go well.
Speaker 1: It is simply encouraging and the world probably needs more
Speaker 1: of that. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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