How amazing is it when, out of the blue, you get a random text or message from someone with nothing but words of encouragement in it?
When perhaps all this person is saying is, I am thinking about you, hoping you are doing well and having a good day. Sometimes, even a simple message like this can be all the encouragement you need to have a great day in your life.
I sincerely believe that words of encouragement are never wasted. And I do it all the time. I send messages to people who I know are struggling with a problem. I also send messages to people I haven’t seen in a long, long time.
It does not matter.
If you can uplift someone’s spirit with just a few sincere words of encouragement, you have helped release all sorts of feel-good, happy hormones in their brain that will carry them through the next few hours at least, feeling a little bit happier and more optimistic than they were before your message came.
I don’t know when or how I got into this habit of communicating encouragement. Yes, my Uncle Scott (who is also my mentor) was definitely an example. And so was my mother who, when I was growing up, always throwing out encouragement and building others up…
But whoever taught me the value of encouragement, I certainly took that lesson to heart, and today it is part of my everyday interactions with people I know, respect, admire or love.
I also make a practice of taking people out to lunch, or for coffee at least, for no reason other than touching base and finding out how they are doing. Something about sharing a meal, breaking bread together like Jesus did, strikes a deep cord of empathy in my heart and I believe the people I invite also feel the same way.
We’re all so busy these days with chores and meetings and appointments, we sometimes have to be persuaded to take a break from the grind for an hour or two. And when we do, we find these spontaneous chats over lunch or over coffee to be truly therapeutic.
Usually, I try not to show up for these meetings with my mind still preoccupied with my own issues and concerns. I take a few minutes, usually while I am driving there, to think about this person instead: where they are in life, what are their challenges, and how I can encourage them to do their best in whatever circumstance they be in. By preparing myself like this, the meeting becomes a lot more rewarding because my own ego is not butting heads with his or hers, trying to make the conversation all about myself.
Sometimes all the encouragement people need is having someone who will just shut up and listen. Help in fact, can come from not saying anything at all.
I watch my Uncle Scott, a 60-year-old gentleman who has mastered the art of silence and is literally changing people’s lives on a daily basis through mentoring and disciplining men between the age of 20 and 50. I admire his amazing skill at this, and in spite of having such an incredible role model in front of me, I often fail myself in the art of truly listening. It’s something I am still working on.
Sometimes encouragement can come in form of a random, thoughtful act. Whenever I find a penny lying around on the street, for example, I make it a point to stop and take a picture for my business partner Alicia. Her daughter’s name is Penny Lou, and she loves pennies, especially found pennies because she thinks they bring her luck. So I make a point of sending her pictures of lost pennies I have found because I know it makes her smile, and perhaps adds some unseen blessing to her frantically busy workdays.
Why do I do all this?
I know that to many people, the idea of taking time out of their own busy lives to encourage someone else seems odd and unnecessary. But once you make the effort to do it, you’ll notice how good it makes you feel as well. After all, God designed us humans to be social beings, and what better way to be sociable than communicate good thoughts, good wishes and good feelings to others when they’re least expecting it? Helping them have a nice day with our words of encouragement, and warming their hearts with the knowledge that there is someone out there who is thinking of them?
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