I’m fortunate to have been raised by a very close, thoughtful family; the “I love you’s” and “Great job’s” flowed from the lips of adults and teachers in my life like a river. Lord knows every little move I made and accomplishment I achieved was recorded, lauded and recounted at family meals. I realize this is not the case for a great deal of folks; I can honestly say I’ve never taken it for granted.

The same is true today: I have a INCREDIBLY kind and encouraging base of family, husband, friends, bosses (past, current and future) and mentors. Even clients and strangers.

The power of  kind gestures, complements and encouragement is truly amazing — and I experience these things from someone every. single. day. Do you?

If you almost said “yes,” then thought “not really”, and then quickly started defending the intentions negative folks in your life, I encourage you to seek out and surround yourself with kind and encouraging people.

A foundation of kind and encouraging peeps is vital: it gives you the confidence to accomplish more than you every thought possible; since a handful of these folks will love you no matter what, you can take smart risks because you won’t be afraid to fail; you’ll always have someone to jump up and down with, say, when you win a trophy or get a new gig in DC; you’ll also learn from these folks how to be a better friend, mentor and spouse.

These are, of course, just a handful of reasons to surround yourself with positive people. I’m sure you are thinking of many more.

Cutting out the negative folks and influences in your life is a hard thing to do and takes time, but I promise you will not regret it. Just read Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers, if you need a little data to back that up.

Over the past few days, I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and love of my support peeps; I wish that same blessing for you, too.