How do compliments play an important role in our relationships? Why are compliments important to the health and well-being of every individual within the vicinity of hearing them? Here is how a few well-chosen words can change your life--and the lives of others.

Compliments exert enormous influence in the exchange of good will between people. They generate mutual feelings of happiness and joy between the givers and recipients. Compliments to others are like small gifts we give ourselves when we pay attention to how we appreciate those around us. Paying a sincere compliment to someone makes you very attractive.

When you compliment people, it can be for something as small as noticing a color they are wearing or as large as an award they have just won. The interesting part about compliments is that the giver can be transformed by the experience. The next time you compliment someone, notice the following:

* A release of tension in your body

* Softened resistance to another person

* Shedding of resentments to those around you

* Your own slower deeper breathing

* A shift in your point of view

Learning to compliment people is a way to develop an attitude of gratefulness. Instead of looking at the negatives in life, you can start to notice the good that people contribute to you. When you do this, you become very attractive.

Try giving your full attention to being thankful to the mailman who comes every day; the clerk in the grocery store who smiles and wishes you a good day; or a child absorbed in watching a snail, which is a reminder to stop and pay attention to the smallest moments.

We all know that there are the realties we have to face every day that need to be handled. But those can often come between taking the time to savor the rich moments. To miss those meaningful times is to miss the point of our lives: we all have much to be grateful for that we often take for granted. Effective, happy people know this.

It is this quality of genuine gratefulness, and the ability to notice the unique characteristics in others and complimenting them, that makes people attractive. When you compliment someone, you have just validated their presence; you have let them know that you are favorably impressed; and you have made them feel acknowledged, less alone, and like someone cares. Who wouldn't want to be around someone who does that?