As we go through our lives something happens every day whether we’re aware of it or not…

We receive compliments from the people around us.

It can be the smallest of compliments all the way up to the type of compliments that in many ways can transform our lives.

With this thought in mind I ask you,

“What is the greatest compliment you’ve ever received?”

What was that compliment about or in reference to? Was it  something you did? Was it something you didn’t do?

Who paid you this compliment? Was it a relative? Was it a friend? Was it a fellow colleague or perhaps even a coach?

When I think about this, I actually can find many compliments because to really pinpoint the one and only one is really leaving out many of the gifts and blessings that have come from each one that I’ve received.

However, if I were to pick the one for me it would be the compliment I received back in high school from a coach.

When I was 16 I went out for the baseball team. Leading up to that I worked out for 4 months to get ready for the tryouts.

The tryouts last 3 weeks and you had to make “two cuts” in order to make the team. I made the first cut and was still eligible  to make the team.

On the last day of tryouts the coach read off the names of the kids who didn’t make the team. He read off all of the names one by one and did not read mine and then he stopped.

At that moment I knew I made it because I did quite well and out performed most of the kids there.

Then right after he paused, and me thinking I made it, he read off my name and cut me…I didn’t make the team.

Right after he read my name he said,

“You have more guts than anyone I’ve ever seen. Come out for the team next year and you’ll make it.”

In that moment even though I was somewhat upset, I sensed that  something was special and would come out of that moment.

To put this in perspective, the coach who cut me also coached the football team and had his favorite kids and at the time I wasn’t one of them.

What made this situation and what he said unique was the context in which it was said, the kids who were there, and the way  he saved it out for last so he could say what he did.

It may have seemed like a negative situation at the time and far from being a compliment but it really set me down a completely different path that I am grateful for today.

Now think about your life along with the people and situations you’ve been around and in.

What are the compliments people have paid you that have made some difference in your life?

It may not even have been a compliment paid to you that in the moment had a positive outcome, such as my baseball story I just shared with you.

Whatever that compliment is for you and even if you receive them on a regular basis just know that you’re worthy of them.

Also be aware that it is wise to “calm down” any positive compliments you receive and be humble in the experience of it all.

One of the greatest ways you can ever repay someone for paying you a compliment is to first say, “thank you” and then to be humble about it while putting the entire situation in  perspective.

Be poised and present and just know that when others acknowledge you for the magnificence and brilliance of who you are and all that you contribute, that how you react can and does affect you and those around you.

To be humble is to be present. To be present allows you to be  thankful.

Being thankful allows you to be grateful…

And in this state of grace is when you uncover the hidden brilliance and magnificence of who you are. That’s when you realize the genius of who you are and what you’re here to be, do, and have.

You’re here to shine and grow and truly make a positive impact in the world and to those around you.

The people you come across in your life that are paying you compliments are just reminding you how amazing of a person you are and thanking you for all that you do.