Yesterday morning I received a compliment. It was a compliment of my job. Something I’ve had to work with since I came to the US is taking compliments, Swedes rarely gives it (don’t ask me why) in the same way as Americans does. Well this compliment wasn’t just nice, it also came from a person who doesn’t give them unless he really means it. And the way he said it told me that he didn’t say it just to be nice or make me happy, it was said straight from his heart. Those words didn’t hurt him to say, it was probably not hard to say but for me… it made my entire day!!! Not only what he said but that it was sincere. I don’t think he realized how happy I was of those kind words. He gave me an amazing start of the day!!!

At the end of the shift received an insult. This time from a woman. Not that it really matters the gender of the person but in some way it does in this case. As I am approaching her from another room she said “You look like a man”. Well okay… What do you answer that? Thank You? Needless to say, I was thrown off guard. No, my feelings ain’t hurt, I am laughing at it. I know I don’t look like a man, even though we had a rough shift, my hair was in a braid and a cap on my head. But if I wasn’t that hardheaded, self confident and independent person I am who can shake things off and laugh at them, think what that comment could have done…

I came home and I started thinking about both of these things. Neither of them realized what an impact their words had at the time they said it. The compliment that really made my day, and writing this it makes me smile. The insult, that may not have been meant the way it sounded that really could have destroyed the next day, but it didn’t.
Very often things pops out of our mouths before we think and once we hear it we say “sh*t did I say that out loud?”. Or we just don’t think about the consequences of what we are saying.

We all just need to stop for a minute, take a deep breath and think positive. If you have anything negative to say, just don’t say it. If you need to get it out of your head, write it down and tear the paper into pieces afterwards. The impact of what we say to one another could make a big difference in someones day, or life for that matter. Tell someone you love them today. If you like what someone is doing, let them know that. It could mean so much more than you realize. My mission for every day is to make someone smile… and it ain’t that hard to accomplish!