Why is it essential to compliment people?

Why is giving compliments difficult? I think it is because most of us have been practicing 'if it is not broken, don't fix it,' attitude for so long. At my job, many years ago, I remember a catchy slogan that the management came up with 'Catch people doing something right.' The purpose was for management to learn to criticize employees less and to compliment them more. You would think that the idea was so simple anyone with a little bit of common sense can do it, but, we were not. As managers, instead of building our employees up, we were tearing them apart. We do the same thing to our loved ones, that is why I feel we need to learn to start complimenting people more often. If we are not building them up, then we are tearing them apart. 

There was a story about the space shuttle Discovery. It was once grounded - not by technical difficulties or lack of funding, but by woodpeckers! The birds found the insulating foam on the shuttle's external fuel tank irresistible. The foam is critical to the shuttle's performance. Without it, ice forms on the tank when it's filled with super-cold fuel; ice that can break free during lift-off and damage it.

The lesson here is, often, our relationships are damaged not by big things such as betrayal, abuse or abandonment, but little things such as criticism, lack of respect, and indifference. Pecking away at our relationship keeps it from reaching the heights of happiness God has planned for us. He gave us discernment to pray for each other, not to tear each other apart. Criticism eats up our self-worth and security like termite. We change only when we are loved, when we feel validated and understood. Not when we are too busy defending ourselves from the very people who were suppose to care about us. Instead of pecking our friends, let us remember their good characters, let us build them up, and let us bring the best in them. If we don't who will.