Don't Worry, Be Grumpy

The Fifteen Seconds of Praise Rule

Experiments in psychology have shown that it takes on average fifteen seconds of continuous praise for it to be heard. But criticism is received immediately!

We are so uneasy with receiving praise that we usually reject it with thoughts such as:

“What is she on about?”

“Is he drunk or just plain crazy?”

“Okay, there’s some hidden motive behind this.”

Therefore, if you want to tell your wife what a wonderful woman she is, or tell your husband how much you admire him, then get out a stopwatch or look at the clock and keep going. Only after fifteen seconds will they take the praise seriously!!