flatter

The Latin term adulāri came to our language What flatter. The concept refers to say or do what is thought to satisfy or sympathize with another person. For example: "In public, it is always convenient to flatter the boss and not mark his mistakes", "If you think that, because you are going to flatter me all day, I will forgive you, you are very wrong", "There are leaders who want to grow in government to flatter the president".

It can be said that flattering consists of praise for a particular purpose. The subject who flatters another does not do so in a sincere or disinterested way, but exaggerates or invents his admiration to make the flattered individual happy with him. So, expect to get favors On your part.

Flattery usually appears in areas where there are people who display a certain can. Rulers are often flattered with the intention of making a profit. A mayor's secretary may flatter his boss constantly in the hope of being appointed to some higher-paying position, to name one possibility.

Those who receive flattery may react differently. There are people who choose humility and who do not enjoy excessive flattery; others, on the other hand, promote a cult of personality and pretend to hear praise and praise constantly. These latter subjects surround themselves with sycophants.

Sometimes it is difficult to find the difference between flatter Y flatter; this last verb, which is considered one of the synonyms of flatterIt can also be defined as "showing affection to a person through actions or words that please him", "satisfying someone through our actions". As can be seen, a flattery it does not always hide the intention to satisfy certain personal interests; on the contrary, it may be an absolutely genuine display of admiration.

Flattering can be a very dangerous action if the recipient of the comments is a child; This happens in many families and in the school setting, especially with individuals of great ability intellectual. When parents and teachers flatter a child they consider special, they fail to strengthen their confidence, but instead turn them into a proud being and distort their perception of the outside world, since they make them believe that their qualities have no limits, that everyone should surrender at his feet.

It is important to distinguish between genuine appreciation, which develops with sincerity to express appreciation to others, and the act of flattery, which is selfish since it responds to the interests of the flatterer.

Recognizing the people around us their virtues and showing admiration for them is an act of modesty that enriches both parties. Contrary to envy, it consists in understanding that each one has their own talents and defects, and that differences should not be a reason for confrontations but for union to become stronger.

As unfortunate as it is, it is not very common to find this degree of sincerity in human relationsBut flattery is much more prevalent. Furthermore, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two actions, since the line that divides them can become very thin.

One of the characteristics that we must take into account to recognize the flattery of genuine appreciation is intonation: since when flattering we do not express ourselves sincerely, it is possible to appreciate a joint forced, which does not seem to be in tune with the words we speak; On the contrary, when expressing our admiration for someone spontaneously, we do not voluntarily seek the right intonation, but rather it comes naturally according to our culture.