It’s amazing what a little encouragement can do – Winnie Harlow
A Game Changing Gift
In his hard-to-put-down book, How Happiness Happens, best-selling author and Pastor Max Lucado says, “With the skill of rock masons, encouragers stack stones of affirmation and inspiration.” Encouragement calls out the best in people. It’s seeing the best in others when they cannot. Our words of encouragement can carve out of others what they never thought was in them. Encouragement is a gift that you can give to anyone, anywhere, and at any time, with no cost to you but with immense benefit to the receiver. Never hesitate where encouragement is needed. Hope is never far behind.
The beauty of encouragement is it takes little time to do, but the effect is monumental. All it takes is a desire to see others through empathy, come alongside them, and offer encouragement. It takes no special skills and has no I.Q. requirement. It’s a choice we make on a daily basis. Leadership expert John Maxwell recounts three categories Walt Disney had for people:
Well Poisoners: They discourage, stomp on your creativity, and remind you of what you cannot do.
Lawn Mowers: They are well-intentioned but ultimately self-absorbed. Their focus tends toward their own needs or lawns and never leave their yard to help anyone.
Life Enhancers: They reach out to others and lift them up. They encourage others and inspire greatness.
Of the three, I hope you wake up every day and pledge to be a life enhancer. In doing so, your life will always be transformational and in demand, like a gas station.
Encouragement is a gift that you can give to anyone, anywhere, and at any time, with no cost to you but with immense benefit to the receiver.
Become a Fill-Up Station
The value of gas stations is unmistakable. If gas stations are closed, many of the operations we term as normal would be shut down. Cars need gas. Likewise, people need encouragement. Your life becomes a fill-up station when you encourage others. You fuel people to keep going with the gift of encouragement. Encouragement is a stimulant, it enhances the quality of other people’s lives. I am continuously amazed at how encouraging words change the atmosphere in our home. Words build or kill. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll says, “Encouragement takes the sting out of life.” I’ve learned that I can never run out of writing content when my default posture is to encourage. Each week, I am the recipient of encouragement from my editor, Samson. He has mastered the art of correction coupled with encouragement. It keeps me going. Looking back on my six years of blogging, I see the fingerprints of encouragement on every blog post.
Whether you choose to speak, write, or perform an act that encourages someone, you can never go wrong with encouragement. As Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy once said, “You know the best way to tell if someone needs encouragement? If they are breathing.” Seize every opportunity to encourage someone.
Final Thought: We live in a hope-parched world. But with encouragement, we can be refreshing wells that quench those who are thirsty for hope. Choose to become a filling station through the power of encouragement.
Keep on keeping on!
Discover Your Treasure 