A year ago I made a decision that totally changed my life.

I decided that every day I'd give a genuine compliment. I started with one because I wasn't truly dedicated just yet. This challenge was me saying to myself that I know the person I want to be and I needed to make a drastic change to make it happen. I started small at first. I surmised that I wanted to start with one a day. Once I mastered an entire week, I'd up my number. Two months later I had reached actively giving five compliments a day, bare minimum.

While that may seem like a silly way to become a better person, the effect it had on me and those in my vicinity was astounding. To start people were a little wary, of course. Despite starting small, it was still a new territory for most. Kindness seems to be a rarity, especially in an environment that was already rather set in their ways.

My compliments started out with the basics - physical appearance. Not only is it the easiest and most tangible aspect of a person to compliment, but often times what people are most insecure about. Not many knew what to do when I would randomly blurt that their hair looked cute or I loved their dimples. I received countless double takes or mumbled "thanks" accompanied with weird looks. It was a shaky start.

For once, instead of praying on their insecurities, someone was highlighting them. It was natural for people to be put off at first; too often in this world we jump to assumptions that all compliments are backhanded. It seems the world doesn't know how to gracefully accept kind gestures anymore. But the more I persevered, the more the good I was doing came to light. The effect I saw on those I spent my everyday time with was far greater than I could've imagined. They were smiling brighter and feeling more confident in themselves. It became my tangible reward for something they didn't even realize I was actively working on.

Once I got into the groove and hit five compliments a day I began to change the game plan. Physical compliments were easy and skin deep. But what about the deeper side of things? What about the insight people give, the way they get excited about their interests, or the things they do everyday that are part of who they are inside? I started to watch people and finally really see them. And not only was I helping people fall in love with themselves, but I was falling in love with them as well.

Compliments no longer require thought for me. I can't keep my mouth shut when it comes to people; it's made me a better person and given me and those around me a happier life in general. It's a change I can't stress to others enough; it altered my life and who I am in a way I'm so gracious for.

So I challenge you. Are you up for it?