USA Today recently commented on the last episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.  The article Oprah as saying, “I’ve spoken to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: a need for validation.”  Validation reinforces a positive sense of worth in people and makes them feel really good about who they are.  Furthermore, people who feel good about themselves do good things.  One of the ways that we can all help make the world a better place is to serve as an instrument of validation.  For example, we can pay people a well deserved complement, thank them for something they’ve done or listen to them when they want to talk.  If you do this on any consistent basis at all, the people around you will be much happier and they’ll brighten up when they see you coming their way.  Think of the impact we can all have on making the world a better place with a little listening and few well chosen words.