“If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.”
~ G. K. Chesterton
encouraging
I love this Encourager series. You get to meet or re-greet amazing wonderful beings who shine their light so brightly for the rest of us that we’re always bathed in brilliance.
Let’s give a great big welcome to today’s guest ~ the dazzling Vidya Sury. encouraging
I am delighted to be here, Elle! Thank you!
One kind word of encouragement, one smile and one hug at the right time can be life-changing. I am always amazed at how it takes so little to put a smile on someone’s face and raise their spirits.
“Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts.” ~ Robert Fulghum
So true. Let me share an inspiring story with you.
As a group of frogs traveled through the woods, two of them fell into a deep pit. The other frogs peeked in and told these two that they were as good as dead as it was impossible to come out. Ignoring the discouragement, these two frogs tried to jump out any way. A while later, one of the frogs, lost its spirit in the constant discouragement and gave up…and died. The second frog kept on jumping. The more the others commented, the harder he tried. Finally, he jumped out!
“Didn’t you hear us?” asked the frogs.
“I am a little deaf. I thought you were cheering me on”, answered the frog.
Moral of the story? Yes! Encouraging words can make the difference between life and death, success and failure. They can go a very long way, influencing the individual for years to come.
space for me. I continued to love and support him despite how he treated me.
An encouraging word steered my career
I used to have a boss who literally changed my life. He made me believe I could do anything. He made me feel I was the best. From being nervous about whether sales/marketing was the right career for me, I became a big achiever in that organization.
What he did was simple. Each day when we returned from our day on the field, he would sit us down and intently listen to our experiences, praising us far more than we needed to be with even minor victories. He helped us analyze what went wrong and how we could avoid it in future. He would make us recall all our achievements in minute detail – what a surge of endorphins that was! And we would go out, walking on air! To this day, I am grateful for this “therapeutic process” and practice it with others, too. In fact, I was so taken up with making people feel good, I progressed into being a Sales Trainer specializing in positive communication. All because of the reinforcement I received.
He would make us recall all our achievements in minute detail – what a surge of endorphins that was! And we would go out, walking on air! To this day, I am grateful for this “therapeutic process” and practice it with others, too. In fact, I was so taken up with making people feel good, I progressed into being a Sales Trainer specializing in positive communication. All because of the reinforcement I received.“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
~ Maya Angelou
Giving the gift of encouragement
I am lucky I was raised by my Mom who always assured me I was good enough and had the choice to feel good, or otherwise. This inspirational message is my motto. Her words, “Be kind, be loving, keep smiling” still ring in my ears. There are times when we don’t feel like, but doing it anyway definitely helps. She had a huge sense of humor and never allowed me to dwell over an unpleasant experience or negative emotion after I talked about it. She pushed me to purge it out of my system and spend my precious energy on productive activities.
She had a huge sense of humor and never allowed me to dwell over an unpleasant experience or negative emotion after I talked about it. She pushed me to purge it out of my system and spend my precious energy on productive activities.I strongly believe in life’s balance. While I had an unusual family situation, I was lucky to grow up with my Grandma, a remarkable person and the epitome of serenity. When I had doubts about my ability, she would say softly, “Of course you can do it” and this helped me sail through most situations, as long as I did not let my inner critic take over.
My friends were no less – I am always grateful to them for helping me build my self-confidence with their constant “Yes, you can! We know you can do it! Go for it!” I’ve known some of them for over 40 years now, which is saying a lot, considering I am going to say hello to the big five-o tomorrow.
We know you can do it! Go for it!” I’ve known some of them for over 40 years now, which is saying a lot, considering I am going to say hello to the big five-o tomorrow. Positive reinforcement brings big benefits to the giver and the recipient. Some I can think of right away, are:
It keeps us going, making us achieve things we would not have thought possible on our own
Makes you feel better
Everyone needs someone – I have my friends, family and peers
We have the power to empower others – just a kind word, a touch, a smile can transform someone’s life!
Dissolves self-doubt
It makes a difference between life and death, as we saw from the story of the frogs. I know of people who were suicidal, but let go of the idea thanks to an encourager.
Builds self-esteem
You start loving yourself more
Let me share a few ways to encourage others
When I notice something nice, I mention it. I like being descriptive, specifying what I liked.
When I introduce people, after the name exchange, I say something nice about them. “This is Elle Sommer. She’s an amazing writer and her blog posts are so motivating they make my day!”
When I receive great service from someone, I let the establishment know…at the restaurant, at the office.
When I hear a great suggestion, I acknowledge and let the person know how it helped.
When I get together with a group of coworkers/friends/family, I remember to praise something they did and let everyone know. Group cheer is great!
I avoid talking down to people. I prefer to talk UP to them. Not “Oh, I should have known you would (nasty stuff)” Instead “You probably know this, but may I suggest you …”
I am kind when I see someone feeling low. I say something nice. If they attempted something and didn’t get the result they wanted, I praise their effort.
I say thanks whenever I can. You’ve no idea how it can boost someone’s spirits. This includes the lift operator, the security guard, the plumber, the guy at the ticket counter, the bus driver… and everyone else we take for granted.
For Anyone Who’s Would Like to Learn How to Encourage Others, Look Inside:
Encouragement The Unexpected Power of Building Others Up
by Larry Crabb
I really could go on and on…but you know what I mean.
It is easy to praise someone who feels low by reminding them of how well they did something, automatically motivating them to do their best, because now they believe they “can”.
Guess what? When you practice this, your actions might inspire others to do the same. How rewarding is that!
Go ahead. Change the world. Make a difference in someone’s life. Live a life of purpose. You know you can.
Now, I have an invitation for you:
Can you think of a time when someone’s words changed the course of your life? Or have your words made a difference in someone’s actions or life? If not, find someone and encourage them this week. Share your experience with me via email to let me know and I’ll feature it on my blog in a post.
To quote Elle, Encourage one another.
Source: livepurposefullynow.com
About The Author
Vidya Sury is a happy Mom, Freelance Writer and Blogger, aspiring author and social media explorer. She views the world through pink colored spectacles, coated with compassion and believes in giving more than she takes. Love is her currency. She loves her work writing, her coffee, friends, family, DIY craft, books, music, cooking and photography. Her hobbies are collecting smiles and inspiring happiness. She is working on finding the cure for infobesity.
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It’s great to use encouraging words all the time, because they will help you build a positive and winning mind. Many people do not give importance to the words they hear and use, when it falls into a negative perspective, the progress towards a satisfactory life is very limited.
The encouraging words is like a fuel that your mind needs at that time, it doesn’t let our inner critic take over. We all needs those words at some certain time in our lives.
Words can either help or destroy one’s mind. That is why we need to be cautious in what words we say to our family, relatives, and friends. Once you have said it, it will always remain and will neve fade away.
Word hurt and words can also bring out the very best in people. It’s a double-edged sword. We all need to stop using words as a weapon and begin using them as a tool to build not destroy.
We need help, that is a fact. Simple words of encouragement can go a very long way.
Encouragement is so powerful it can build a nation!
🗽 🌍
I agree!!! At times what we say has an an effect to the one receiving it. We all have different circumstances in life that more likely than not a single word can either lead us to a different way or even to our destiny. Do not utter words you might regret because we cannot take those back.
We have different aspect in life that lead us to the destiny. Do not say words that you can regret later on .
sometimes all it takes is a few words of encouragement and you are all set to go. good read thanks.
Encouraging words are indeed powerful. It gives relieves if you failed an interview, lost a job, and it could save someone life. Give someone some encouraging words those who seeks for advice and attention and give some hugs too.
Awesome message. Passing good energy keeps the world go round in perfect unity. I really love the frog analogy and I agree that the simplest thanks or positive remark can make someone’s day. For me, I was working as a phone customer representative for a Zoo organization. I didn’t pass my trial period, but instead of my supervisor ragging on what I did wrong, he said, “I think you would be a really good fit for a fundraising position, just not for this role.” Afterwards, I applied for a fundraising position with a charity organization. It was the perfect fit… Read more »
True, encouragement is helpful to keep you going even though you don’t trust yourself that you can do it when someone trust your capability it always give you courage to give it your best and be inspired. Keep going, you wouldn’t know your limits if you’ll never try to be more.
“Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts.” I couldn’t have put it better myself!
It doesn’t take a lot to put a smile on someone’s face. Personally I feel happier when I lift other people’s spirits.
Words can truly make or break someone. We should be very wise with how we use our words.
Encouraging words can make the difference between life and death, success and failure. I am completely on board with this message.
I like the short analogy of the frogs story. Entertaining and informative at the same time. Wonderful article!
Your write up just lifted my spirits! I will return the favor by making someone else smile today. Many thanks for this 🙂
The importance of encouraging words really cannot be overstated. A lot of people have had their lives changed for the better simply because of encouraging words.
My career is so much better now thanks to some encouraging words I heard from a public speech. We all need a little encouragement in our lives.
I am very much interested in that Larry Crabb book. I’ll be sure to read it when I have the time.
The tips you share on how to encourage others look so effective. I will try some of them on my co-workers.
This article is so refreshing! I feel encouraged after reading it. I look forward to even more amazing articles like this from you.
Thank you for the kind words, Shaun. I work hard to optimize and make the site as effecient as possible. I learn more every day. If you’re interested in reading future blogs that I publish every Monday, you can subscribe here: https://yourinspirationnation.com/subscribe. All the best. Stay iNspired!