Body Image, Body Positivity, and Best 100 Compliments

We are unfortunately living in a society that is relying more and more on physical appearance for validation and manipulating our body image. To make matters worse the media is constantly raising the bar for the standards of physical beauty. It’s getting hard for both men and women to keep up with ridiculous societal standards of physical beauty, just to receive some compliments, and it’s taxing on their body image. Nonetheless, we all are in this mad race taking us nowhere but toward depression and anxiety. This is so important for us because Maslow’s hierarchy of basic human needs dictates getting appreciation and approval from others is one of our basic needs.

The importance of social approval is evident from our addiction to getting likes and comments on social media. We are hungry for compliments and they serve as a great tool for motivating others. However, every tool comes with some cautionary notes and the compliments towards our appearance lead to objectification (sexual or otherwise). This could have an overall negative impact on our mental and consequently physical health. If you will compliment someone about them looking slimmer or tanner, they will be motivated to lose even more weight or tan even more frequently. This could obviously damage their physical health and mental peace.

Did you know eating disorders are body image-related mental illnesses caused by the need to stay slim, so much so that people starve themselves even though they are underweight? It has largely to do with compliments like ‘Wow, you look so nice after losing weight.’

Additionally, emphasizing physical standards of beauty and choosing to compliment people about their bodies could be seriously damaging as a normal human regularly fluctuates in terms of physical attributes like weight, complexion, and other skin-related attributes. Plus, most physical attributes are not even under our control. It is nearly impossible to change the shape or size of our nose, eyes, and other facial feature without going under the knife. Similarly, there are many body types and we can not choose what body type we get through genetics. This affects their body image which researchers have shown is directly correlated to life satisfaction and inversely correlates to depression and anxiety.

In simpler terms the better view a person holds about their physical attributes, the more satisfied and happier they would be with their life. In fact, they will enjoy their sexual life more than a person who holds a negative view of their body. In contrast the more poorly a person thinks of their physical attributes the more likely they are to fall prey to depression and anxiety.

This is because people are relying more and more on their physical attractiveness to measure self-worth. To counter the situation, I am here recommending that we all practice give compliments that have nothing to do with physical appearance. These types of compliments will help them feel better about themselves without messing up with their body image. They will also lift the pressure off meeting ridiculous societal standards of beauty. I know it could be hard to come up with compliments about things that do not meet the eye or are not evident immediately, but this is important and we all need to practice this.

Did you know giving compliments and doing random acts of kindness can boost your self-esteem too? It releases ‘oxytocin’ a hormone related to social bonding and motherly love. It makes you feel good.

 I am listing 100 compliments that are not related to appearance for you to take notes.

1. Your thoughts are inspiring.
2. You are really smart.
3. I am glad I met you.
4. I like the confidence you have in yourself.
5. You are very patient.
6. You are doing a great job with your life/kids.
7. You are a very kind person.
8. You have a heart of gold.
9. You are wise beyond your years.
10. You are a great friend.
11. You are such a delight to have.
12. I am grateful to have you in my life.
13. You are so good at controlling your temper.
14. You are so generous.
15. You have my vote of confidence.
16. I love how focused you are.
17. You have totally got this.
18. I like the way you think.
19. Your work is awesome.
20. I can always trust you.
21. You are getting so much good at it (insert task).
22. I appreciate you are trying to work on your skillset, it shows in your work.
23. I like your dedication.
24. I like that you are always on time.
25. You are a great team player.
26. I like your enthusiasm.
27. You are an amazing person.
28. I like that your ideas are always original and unique.
29. I think you are my kind of person.
30. You are so caring/kind/polite towards others.
31. You have a great aesthetic sense.
32. You are really a creative person.
33. You are always so helpful and eager to help others.
34. You have a very warm and uplifting personality.
35. You are such a great host.
36. You are so good with children/animals.
37. You are an inspiration/role model for others.
38. You deserve good things.
39. You are so humble and down to earth.
40. You have worked so hard for all this.
41. You are really a well-organized person.
42. You are a great cook/artist/writer.
43. I think you are the best person for the job.
44. You are so good with your choice of words.
45. Your feelings/opinions/voice matters.
46. I am impressed by how well you can handle stress.
47. You are so good with facts and figures.
48. I love how bold and firm you are about your ideas.
49. You have my vote if you ever decide to run for presidential elections.
50. You are a great mom/dad/uncle/aunt/granddad/grandma/daughter/son.
51. You have done so well in your professional and personal life.
52. You are so easy to talk to.
53. You are a lovely person.
54. You are so passionate about your work.
55. You have very good morals.
56. You always have kind words to say.
57. You are so persistent.
58. I love how witty you are.
59. You have a very clear vision/perspective on life.
60. You are my go-to person for advice.
61. I can talk to you for hours with you.
62. You bring joy wherever you go.
63. You have great attention to detail.
64. You are such a compassionate person.
65. You are a great listener.
66. You have such a positive energy/aura.
67. You have a special place in my life.
68. I love how you have an eye for the bigger picture.
69. I like your optimistic approach.
70. You can see good in everything.
71. You mean the world to me.
72. You have always been so supportive.
73. I can talk my heart out to you.
74. You are so considerate towards others.
75. I like your honesty and straightforwardness.
76. I admire you for your courage.
77. You will make a great husband/wife/boss/parent.
78. You have great people skills.
79. It’s impressive how you can always make things happen.
80. You are so good at multi-tasking.
81. You melt my heart every time.
82. You are a real lifesaver.
83. You are so romantic/friendly.
84. You have great communication skills.
85. You have a great sense of humor.
86. Your outlook is uplifting.
87. You are my hero.
88. I love how spontaneous you are with your remarks.
89. You are a very resilient person.
90. You can always make me smile.
91. You are a great company to have.
92. Your voice tone is always so heartwarming.
93. I can always count on you, thank you for always being there for me.
94. You have a talent for this (x-skill)
95. I am proud of you.
96. You have a very positive vibe going on.
97. I like your perfume.
98. Your voice is so heartwarming.
99. You make me feel better about my life.
100. You are so good at making people feel comfortable.

I hope you find these compliments helpful and practice them more often.