Encourage Others—A Message That Deserves Repeating

The power of encouragement isn’t a new revelation, but having been personally affected by it recently, I am compelled to continue to spread its message—such is the nature of its spell.

The evidence of evil in our society is abundant. So much so that it can be hard not to get overwhelmed by the stream of tragedy. But, in all of the darkness, there is still light.

We all have the power to influence the behavior of others with our words. I truly believe that widespread encouragement can prevent tragedy—even death.

Thanks to the compound power of encouragement, even if only one person takes action after reading this, the positive impact of these words will continue on and on and on.

Encourage Someone Taking a Risk

Recently, I started sharing my poetry. This did not come easy for me. My poetry displays my vulnerabilities, as art tends to do, and that made me feel afraid of criticism, especially because I was releasing it to the internet—not known for being the kindest audience.

But, when I took the risk of publishing my poem on Reddit, the strangers on the other side of the screen chose to show me encouragement.

These random people, with nothing to gain from it, took a few seconds out of their day to say something nice to me. Their encouragement propelled me to keep sharing my art and also motivated me to write this article.

As a small business owner, I have felt the pressure of taking that type of risk too—a pressure that can feel unmanageable without encouragement.

Your friends and family who are taking risks need your encouragement. When you see someone you care about chasing a dream, acknowledge it. In the same way that you would jump to caution them if they were about to do something really dangerous, leap to encourage them —”hey, I see what you’re doing and I think you should keep doing it!” You might just change their world.

Encourage People in Your Daily Life

The only way you can see the beauty that lies around you is to help unleash it. So, to see more positivity in your day-to-day life, you should be encouraging the people in your day-to-day life.

Have you ever met someone who is always complimenting, supporting, and motivating everyone around them? It’s so unusual to see this behavior in our {self-absorbed} western culture that you assume these acts must come naturally to them. While the romantic in me would like to believe people like this are born with something special in their hearts, my observations tell me otherwise. Many of these natural motivators make a concerted effort to build other people up.

A Full Year of Daily Encouragement

One of my college sorority sisters, Takara, demonstrated the beauty of practicing daily encouragement in a social media challenge she called “tkssunshinethru29”. Every day, for a year, she challenged herself to publically highlight someone who added positivity to her day.

Some days she posted about a stranger from a brief encounter, other days she expressed her gratititude towards a lifelong friend during a milestone event.

For 365 days, she did something to encourage the people around her—that there are still good people out there, there is still sunshine. When she could, she recognized people by name, and shone a little positive attention their way.

“Some of the good that people do goes unnoticed. I wanted to make a conscious effort to notice the good,” said Takara, “It filled my life with positivity and made me be intentional to find it each and every day.”

Takara Speagle on her #tksunshinethru29 challenge

Encourage Those Who Go Unnoticed

In an attention-starved society, your attention is your strongest personal offering. When you choose to place your attention on someone or something they are doing, you are giving them the most valuable gift you can give.

The people who are lashing out in society are seeking your attention—they want to be recognized. Most likely, they have gone unnoticed. Or maybe, it is their behavior that has not been noticed.

If you choose to seek out those who are lonely, depressed, or isolated, and encourage them—think of the void you may be filling for them—think of the damaging attention-seeking behavior you may be preventing.

And Would You Like to Donate a Few Words Today to Change the World?

I’m sure you are used to occasionally being asked for a small donation, often at the checkout counter, of a dollar or so, to benefit a non-profit. Similarly, I’d like to ask you for a small donation of a word or two to benefit the world we are living in.

Tell the people you love why you love them. Encourage someone who is taking a big risk. Seek out lonely people and let them know you notice them just as they are—their life means something.

Not only does building up other people have a positive impact on their mental health, but it also enriches the community you are a part of. Simply putting more purpose of love and encouragement behind your words can have an enormous impact on the people you love—and the world we live in.