Stay with the positive

"Good words are worth much, and cost little."

George Herbert - poet, orator and priest 1593 to 1633

Portrait of George Herbert by Robert White

Practicing appreciation can not only help the person who hears your appreciation - 'thank you', 'I liked making the dinner with you' 'this is a good cup of tea', 'I like the way you have organised yourself this week' - it can help the person who gives it. When you start practising being grateful and actually saying something out loud about it you experience more positive emotions and you actually feel happier. Guess what, you are happier.

At the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan, in a 2008 study they found that the brain reacts the same for compliments as it does for being paid cash. "We found that these seemingly different kinds of rewards -- a good reputation versus money -- are biologically coded by the same neural structure, the striatum," said Dr. Norihiro Sadato of the Japanese

You may have heard before about the power of praise, but thought it a bit twee and sugar sweet but you do not have to be fake about it. How do we praise and stay true to ourselves? Slow down a little, do not rush through your life, give just a little thought to how something makes you feel and then express it in your own way.

Some other suggestions are be specific with your appreciation, describe what is good and most importantly with children praise the effort not the results.

Also read "When Selflessness Becomes Selfishness" about mood and pain level effects of praise.