What makes us hold back praise?

In many of my social and professional circles, praise comes free and comes easy, sometimes so lavish that you’ll start wondering how much of it is true!!

But, we often come across people who are uneasy when someone else is complimented or praised.

They seem to clam up or start to critique the person being praised.

My views on why we hold back:

1 Jealousy – Feeling bitter when someone has better.

2 Insecurity – “Hey I’m nothing compared to him/her. My praise may elevate his/her status further, where will that leave me?”

3 Poor self image – too busy thinking about how bad we are at things.

4 Arrogance – I think I am better than him/her and deserve to be praised for it, not him/her!

A state of ignorance is what the scriptures would call the above states of the mind.

So, my view on how to remedy these feelings –

1 Holding back our praise will not alter the truth – someone who is popular/speaks or sings well will have his voice heard by the world, irrespective of whether we praise or not!

2 Get inspired, not jealous. Someone will always be better, no matter what!

3 Our mind rushes to compare who is richer, nicer or better than us in any way. Controlling the mind and being grateful for whatever little we have and what we are would reduce this feeling.

Point to ponder – When did you last praise someone?