Stats

I was checking the stats on my webpage the other day.  There are all kinds of numbers there but one, in particular, caught my eye.  17,539.   Turns out that is the total number of words I have written since I started this site three months ago.  That number surprised me.

What really surprised me, however, was not listed on my statistics page.  It was the first person who told me that my words touched them and changed their way of thinking about something.  This made me wonder how many words we need to make an impact on someone’s life. How many to bring a smile to someone’s face?  How many to lift someone up? 

I don’t think there is a magic number.  I think that a few well-chosen words will do the trick. 

Words are compelling.  Written or spoken.  And we all have the power to use them to pull someone up or propel them forward.  You don’t have to have a website to do it.  You don’t need a degree to do it.   And you certainly don’t need 17,539 words to do it.

In 2016, an artist in San Francisco started hanging up compliment posters.   The project has spread around the world and has turned into a “marketing campaign for kindness.” What a fabulous idea!  Just grab a compliment from the poster for yourself or to share with someone else.

Think about the last time someone gave you a compliment or said something nice to you.  No matter who it was, or what the occasion, it probably inspired a shift in the way you were feeling.  Maybe it made you smile and changed the course of your day.  Positive words have a way of doing that.

It feels good to be acknowledged and to have someone pay attention to you.  We all have the same capacity to inspire that feeling in others too.  And, it turns out that complimenting others gives us a sense of satisfaction and happiness as well. 

I can’t give you any numbers or provide statistics to back up any of my claims here. The best I can do is to tell you to go out and field test it for yourselves. I think you’ll be surprised at the results.