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Vocalize those good thoughts. Confidence, or lack thereof, is not a mitigating factor here.
I could burn through the many feel good analogies and research regarding this, however these do no good at that perfect time when you are standing in line behind a woman you noted has amazingly thick, waist length hair. Who, I also should note, is managing three preschoolers while trying to find her debit card to pay for said children’s necessities.
She cannot hear or feel your inner dialogue as you stand behind her, taking note of these observations. No amount of vibrational pull is going to eradicate the neediness of snotty nosed children, still using whining as their emotive tool.
Extending that simple, “Wow, your hair is gorgeous”, may fall on deaf ears.
Or it may be a salve that she may have needed as her identity is slowly being enveloped by said children.
We never know. Which is why extending your kind thought verbally may change the trajectory of the recipient’s day. Or life.
We often make assumptions that strangers do not want to hear something from a stranger. That we are not good enough to express that compliment to another individual.