This Easy Trick Can Boost Your Mood And Help You Avoid Colds

Oddly enough, it can improve your performance in job interviews and at work, too.

When a friend compliments you, it puts a smile on your face. But it might do more than that. New research shows that compliments can boost your immune system and improve your on-the-job performance and relationships with co-workers.

"These relatively small interventions had such powerful effects on people’s physiology...as well as their creativity," Dr. Daniel Cable, professor of organizational behavior at London Business School and lead author of this study, told The Huffington Post in an email. "I was surprised how much it changed their relationship with their employer."

Cable and his colleagues drew their conclusion from three separate experiments.

In the first experiment, 123 men and women participated in mock job interviews. Before the interviews, one third of the participants received a hand-written note from a friend containing compliments like “You are unafraid to be intelligent... I can think of a time when you won an argument with class, and I found it inspirational.” One-third of the participants received a neutral note, and one-third wrote down their own strengths.

What happened? Those who had received a friend's note performed much better in the interview, as judged by a pair of observers.

In the second study, 75 people solved puzzles and did creative thinking exercises, such as coming up with new uses for an old newspaper.

Before the tests, half of the participants received notes from friends, family, or coworkers describing "when they witnessed the participant at his or her best." Those participants performed better on the tests than did participants who didn't get such notes--and saliva samples taken from them afterward suggested that the notes had boosted their immune function.

In the final experiment, employees reminded of their past accomplishments at the time of their hiring felt significantly less burnt when surveyed one year later. As Julia Lee, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan School of Business and a co-author of this study, told The Huffington Post in an email, these workers were "less likely to believe that they just do the work for money."

What's the take-away? Next time you're going into a job interview, ask your mom or BFF to write you a nice note about that time you aced a test or saved the day.

For another simple trick that may boost your confidence, check out the "Talk Nerdy To Me" episode below.

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