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All of us want to be good and successful people. Achieving those goals isn’t necessarily easy, though. Plenty of life experiences can make being your best self pretty challenging.
Thus, when we do overcome those circ*mstances, we want others to recognize our hard work. That’s why one of the kindest ways to express support for a loved one is through “I’m so proud of you” messages.
The following are examples worth considering. These are all perfect “I’m so proud of you” messages and gestures for a range of occasions.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- How to Tell Your Kids You’re Proud of Them
- How to Tell Your Friends That You’re Proud of Them
- How to Tell Your Spouse or Partner You’re Proud
- How to Tell Your Parents You’re Proud
- How to Tell Your Siblings You’re Proud
- How to Tell Your Employees or Colleagues You’re Proud
- ‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages to Share After Graduation
- Famous Quotes That Say ‘I’m So Proud of You’
- Short ‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages to Share in a Card
- ‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages to Share in a Social Media Post
How to Tell Your Kids You’re Proud of Them
Kids need to know their parents are proud of them. Help your kids feel your sense of pride with these ideas.
1. Throw a party
Treating your kids to a surprise party when they accomplish something is almost never a bad idea!
2. Brag (in earshot)
This tip isn’t encouraging you to arrogantly brag about your kids all the time. Instead, it’s suggesting bragging about your kid’s accomplishment to someone who knows you’re trying to make them feel proud (such as a relative), all while they’re in earshot.
3. “Look at how far you’ve come”
One of the best messages for someone going through a hard time (such as a child struggling in college) is to remind them of how proud they should be of what they’ve accomplished so far.
4. Display their work
Whether you’re putting a young child’s painting on the refrigerator or displaying an adult child’s first published book on the shelf, you’ll clearly show your kids how proud you feel by putting their work on display in your home.
5. Show the difference
Prove to your kids they’ve achieved key goals by comparing their current performance to the past. For example, you might show a child who is doing well academically an old report card from a time when they were struggling.
How to Tell Your Friends That You’re Proud of Them
“I’m so proud of you” messages are also ideal when you want to make friends feel better. Here are some you might use.
6. “Wow.”
It’s simple but effective! If you have friends you don’t get to see very often, you might have reason to feel proud of them the next time you do reconnect.
Maybe they’ve gotten in shape. Maybe a friend who used to struggle financially now has a nice home and clearly earns good money. In these instances, simply saying “Wow” (and meaning it) will let them know you’re proud.
7. “This isn’t easy, but you did the right thing.”
Sometimes supporting a friend and letting them know you’re proud takes the form of helping them cope with a difficult decision they made. For instance, offering a friend best wishes and telling them they did the right thing after ending a relationship can mean a lot to them.
8. “Can you help with [insert relevant task]?”
Want to let a friend know you’re proud of them for recovering from an illness? A unique but meaningful way to do so is to ask them to help with a task that they may have struggled with in the past.
For example, this type of request is often one of the most positive messages for cancer patients who’ve recovered to the point that they’re physically able to perform such tasks.
9. “How did you do it?”
Telling someone you’re proud of them essentially involves recognizing their achievements. Thus, instead of merely saying “I’m proud of you” to a friend who’s accomplished something impressive, you could instead ask them how they did so.
10. Challenge them to something you know they can now achieve
Friends often help each other make improvements in their lives. This can take various forms depending on the circ*mstances.
For instance, maybe you’re a strong athlete, and a friend asked you to help them get in shape. Show them you’re proud of their progress by challenging them to achieve a fitness goal (like running a marathon) once you know they’ve reached the point where they can.
How to Tell Your Spouse or Partner You’re Proud
Offer these “I’m so proud of you” messages to a partner or spouse to ensure they feel you appreciate the hard work they put into your relationship.
11. Send a surprise text
Telling a partner you’re proud of them doesn’t need to be an elaborate gesture. Sometimes a surprise text is more than enough if it’s genuine.
12. Be proud of everything important
Don’t merely tell your partner you’re proud of their achievements that directly benefit you, such as moving up in their career. Show you truly care by showing pride in the achievements that relate to their personal interests.
13. Post on social media
If you’re willing to let the social media world know how proud you are of your partner, they’ll be more inclined to believe you mean what you say.
14. Treat them
Simply treating a spouse or partner to a nice date night is definitely an effective way to express your pride and gratitude.
15. “Tell me what it took”
To show a partner you’re proud of something, such as getting a raise, give them a chance to describe the steps they took to achieve that goal.
How to Tell Your Parents You’re Proud
Just as kids want their parents to be proud of them, so do parents want to know their kids are proud of who they’ve become. These messages help you express that.
16. Make it public
Throughout your life, you may have several opportunities to express pride in your parents in very public ways. For instance, you could thank them for their hard work in your high school yearbook senior quote, mention them during a wedding toast, etc. Consider doing so when these opportunities arise.
17. Be the parent
This is an idea worth considering if you’re a young adult whose parent has achieved something significant, such as finally earning their degree. Reverse roles and treat them to a night out at their favorite dinner spot (on you, of course) like they would when you achieved something impressive as a child.
18. Boast about them in front of friends
You should also keep this idea in mind if you’re a teenager. At this age, many pretend it’s “uncool” to talk about how awesome their parents are with their friends.
That means you can make your parents feel very special by openly bragging about their accomplishments in front of your best buddies when your parents can see and hear you doing so.
19. Say you want to be like them
Telling your parents you aspire to be like them in certain ways will almost definitely make your pride clear.
20. Thank them
Say thank you to your parents by sending them a letter describing how much you appreciate something they’ve accomplished that’s had a positive impact on your life.
How to Tell Your Siblings You’re Proud
An “I’m so proud of you” message from a sibling can have a particularly strong impact. Make your sib feel special with one of these.
21. Tell your kids you admire your sibling
There may be many instances in your adult life when it makes sense to let a sibling know you’re proud of them by telling your kids they should be proud of them too. Consider doing so at family gatherings when the impulse strikes.
22. Celebrate National Sibling Day on social media
April 10th marks one of the US’s most heartfelt unofficial holidays: Sibling Day. Celebrate it by posting on social media about how proud you are of a sibling.
23. “I know how hard that must have been”
Older siblings often understand better than many others how certain experiences can be difficult because they’ve had those experiences, too.
For instance, if you’re proud of a younger sibling for graduating high school with a high GPA because you know how much work that must have taken, send them a “thinking of you” message saying as much.
24. Bring up their accomplishments
Don’t wait for parents or other older relatives to mention your sibling’s accomplishments at the dinner table. Show your pride by bringing them up yourself.
25. Give them a “certificate”
Siblings often have the freedom to express pride in one another through humorous or playful means. It’s simply the nature of many sibling relationships. For example, you could print out a funny fake certificate to “award” to a sibling when they do something that makes you proud.
How to Tell Your Employees or Colleagues You’re Proud
Good bosses and coworkers express pride in their teams and colleagues. Consider doing so through one of these gestures.
26. Acknowledge them
Giving credit to an employee who helped your team achieve a key goal lets them know you’re proud. Research also shows it boosts employee engagement.
27. Thank them
Just as a boss can acknowledge an employee’s contributions to the team’s success, so can other team members express their pride by simply thanking that same employee for their hard work.
28. Give them more responsibilities
As long as you know you won’t overburden an employee, you could show them you’re proud of their accomplishments by giving them more responsibilities. Just make sure you compensate them accordingly!
29. Plan events to highlight accomplishments
Sometimes your goal isn’t merely to express pride in an individual employee. You may want to let your entire workforce know you feel proud of them.
Do so by rewarding them with fun company events that begin with brief discussions of the achievements the company couldn’t have accomplished without them.
30. Take a colleague out
It’s not uncommon for some friends to take each other out for drinks or meals when a friend lands a dream job or client. However, you can use this same method to show a coworker or colleague you’re proud when they earn a promotion.
‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages to Share After Graduation
Graduating from college, high school, or even lower grades is an important achievement for many. If you want to express to someone how proud you are of them for reaching this goal, consider doing so with one of the following messages:
31. ‘You’ve made our entire family so proud!’
This is the type of message you might share with someone if you want to let them know that you’re proud of them for graduating college when they are the first member of your family to do so. This type of message will remind them that their achievement reflects not only on themselves but on the legacy of the entire extended family.
32. Give them a practical gift
Again, giving a gift on a special occasion can be very effective and meaningful to let someone know you’re proud of them. However, that doesn’t mean the gift you give must always be particularly heartfelt or sentimental. Sometimes, giving a practical gift can show someone you have faith in their abilities to apply what they’ve already achieved in pursuit of even greater goals.
For example, when a child graduates college, it is not uncommon for their parents or grandparents to gift them with an item that will help them during their job search. Examples include an outfit for job interviews, professional stationery, and other such items.
33. Share a picture from a previous graduation
Expressing your pride in someone for graduating college or high school will take some planning, but it can result in a very touching moment. If your child or grandchild has recently graduated from elementary school or even preschool, make sure you take a picture and save it.
When they graduate college or high school, you can give them this picture or even create a card, showing them how far they’ve come over the years. This type of gift can put into even greater context the significance of the hard work they’ve put in to reach graduation.
34. Throw a party
Is throwing a party a fairly standard and conventional way of celebrating someone’s graduation? Yes. However, that doesn’t mean you should dismiss the idea. Gathering family and friends together for a large party in your home or any location of your choosing can remind someone that you’re not the only one who is proud of them for this significant life achievement.
Famous Quotes That Say ‘I’m So Proud of You’
Don’t worry if you’re struggling to come up with the right words when trying to determine how to tell someone you are proud of them. You can always turn to the words of famous people and historic figures if you’re not certain your own words will be sufficient. Consider the following examples:
35. ‘Be proud of your scars. They remind you that you have the will to live.’ by Paulo Coelho
This is the type of quote you might share with someone to let them know you are proud of them for overcoming a difficult experience or situation. It expresses the notion that, rather than hiding our wounds (physical, mental, or emotional), we should perceive them as signs of our strength and perseverance.
36. ‘You don't have to be famous. You just have to make your mother and father proud of you.’ by Meryl Streep
Fine, it may be somewhat easy for a megastar like Meryl Streep to express the sentiment, but there’s plenty of truth behind it. Earning fame and fortune may be a goal of many, but what might be more important is simply making the special people in our life proud.
37. ‘I'm proud of you for the times you came in second, or third, or fourth, but what you did was the best you have ever done.’ by Fred Rogers
Leave it to Mr. Rogers to remind us that we don’t need to be a top achiever all the time for people to be proud of us. If you’re looking for a quote to share with someone to tell them you’re proud of them whenever they try to do their best, this is certainly one to consider using.
38. ‘Be proud of your valiant day-to-day struggle. There is no shame in needing support.’ by Jared Padalecki
Do you know someone who may be a high achiever, but believes they need to achieve all their goals on their own without help? If so, use this quote to let them know you’re proud of them, even if they need support. In fact, you would even imply that you’re proud of them for asking for support, because you know that doing so doesn’t come naturally to them.
39. ‘I’m so proud of you that it makes me proud of me. I hope you know that.’ by John Green
This John Greene quote is an ideal one to consider using if you want to let someone know you are so proud of them that the pride you now feel has positively impacted your feelings about yourself. This can remind someone that their accomplishments positively impact many people in their life.
Short ‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages to Share in a Card
A card is one of the most common formats to share an “I’m so proud of you” message. Because a card tends to have somewhat limited space for words, the message you share within one should be relatively short. Consider such options as the following:
40. ‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’
This “message” is actually a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote. While it doesn’t technically mention feelings of pride, it nevertheless can serve as an ideal “I’m so proud of you” message. It can be written in a card you might give someone at graduation, when they land their first major job, or any other such occasion.
The message indicates a belief that the person receiving the card is a unique individual capable of achieving great things in life and doing so in a manner that involves remaining true to themselves. This is certainly a notion that someone would share with someone for whom they feel tremendous pride.
41. ‘Every single name here is the name of a person who is very proud of you!’
Among workforces, friends groups, and other such networks, it’s not uncommon for many people to collectively sign a card for another member of the group on both happy occasions (such as a birthday) and sad ones (such as the passing of a family member).
You can apply this same idea when sending a card to someone you are proud of. It may not be practical for every family member and friend to send a card individually. However, you could send one card, collecting the signatures of as many people as possible in the margins, with this central message letting them know that everyone who signed the card is proud of them at that moment.
42. ‘Good job’
Don’t reject this idea merely because it’s extremely short and extremely simple! That’s the entire point.
Sometimes, people may have the best of intentions when attempting to compose relatively lengthy messages explaining in great detail how and why they feel pride for someone.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach. It makes sense that you would want to be thorough and specific when trying to help someone understand just how proud of them you are.
That said, it’s not uncommon for the most stripped-down messages to have the strongest effect. A card that reads “Good job” could profoundly impact someone if they know exactly what you are referring to when you send the card.
‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages to Share in a Social Media Post
Social media allows us to express our pride in someone in a very public way. While doing so is not always appropriate, more often than not, someone will likely be very happy that you are so proud of them you needed to tell the world. Consider doing so in the following ways:
43. A picture or video
As always, the message you share when expressing to someone that you feel proud of them doesn’t need to consist of words. For example, in some instances, the ideal social media post expressing pride in someone might consist instead of a relevant picture or video.
Perhaps a friend has recently delivered a very impressive performance of some kind. If you have a video of that performance, sharing it on social media (even without any accompanying written message) can tell both the subject of the video and all your social media friends and family that you are very proud of your friend for their accomplishment.
That’s just one example. The main point to remember is that you don’t always need to express yourself in words when you want to tell someone just how proud of you are. There are plenty of occasions when words are not necessary.
44. A lengthier message
Some social media platforms, like Twitter, limit the number of characters a user may include in a post. Many others do not.
Keep this in mind if you share an I’m so proud of your message on social media. Because there may be almost no limit to how long your message can be, you might take this opportunity to explain in great detail why you are proud of someone.
As a previous entry in this list mentioned, going into major detail when sharing an I’m so proud of you message is not always the perfect approach. Still, if you want to publicly tell friends and family that you’re proud of someone, it sometimes makes sense to be thorough.
45. A hashtag
It can be very simple. Consider creating a unique hashtag for someone you are proud of. For example, if your friend Bill just graduated from a Ph.D. program, the hashtag #CongratsDrBill would allow you and many other friends and family members to express your pride in your friend together. They will almost certainly appreciate such a gesture.
‘I’m So Proud of You’ Messages: Make Someone Feel Loved
Letting someone know you’re proud of them also lets them know you think they’re an admirable person. These “I’m so proud of you” messages will help you do so.
Post-planning tip:Receiving kind messages can be a part of the experience of a loss. If you are the executor for a deceased loved one, it's tough to handle both the emotional and technical aspects of their unfinished business without a way to organize your process. We have apost-loss checklistthat will help you ensure that your loved one's family, estate, and other affairs are taken care of.
