Mrs. Marie Romine taught 5th grade at Burlington Elementary School in southern Ohio. She was a boundless woman over six feet tall, topped with an expansive shock of white hair. She loved teaching and loved her students, which fortunately included me. Mrs. Romine would often encourage us. And, I thought I was doing okay in the class. But it’s still nerve-racking when your mom goes to meet your teacher, even for a pre-scheduled parent/teacher conference that all parents are expected to attend.
So, my obvious question: “What did she say?”
Mom: “She said you are college material.”
Four words. “You are college material.” Four words in the backdrop of the fact that no one in my family had ever graduated from college. Ever. Either side. College material. Wow.
Even for a boy of eleven years old living in a world of poverty, those words stuck. She “put courage in” me, even though it wasn’t in person. Those words, along with the support of my parents buoyed me through four degrees.
Encourage means “to put courage in.” You infuse courage…you inject it into the veins of another human being. Every person on the planet can encourage others. Everyone should encourage others.
Here are three reasons why.
1. You increase the value of someone else.
Appreciation tethers itself to encouragement. When you appreciate someone else, you encourage that person. The word “appreciate” means “to increase in value”. When a house appreciates, it is worth more than it was. When you appreciate another human being, you raise their personal property value.
Your encouragement connects the receiver to his/her own emotional state. It links to their internal world that does not have to be linked to current situations beyond their control. You can have a great, positive outlook even in the worst situation. You can also have a negative, brooding attitude in some really great places. It’s the internal world that matters most. Encouraging someone else pumps courage into that unseen place.
2. You make the world a better place when you encourage one person.
Encouraging one person increases that person. And, that encouragement not only burrows into the person, it radiates from that person. It is a core aspect of our connectedness. As you know, what affects us, affects others. When you elevate another, there is a residual lift to the people connected to that person.
3. You improve your own perspective.
Saying encouraging words to others is a magical experience.
“I knew you could do it.”
“You know I love you.”
“I see great things for you in the coming days.”
“You are better than what is happening to you.”
“Some of the world’s greatest leaders have endured many difficult days. It helped make them great. That is what is happening to you, if you will allow it.”
It improves your life.
Some things have to be believed to be said.
Other things have to be said to be believed.
When you tell someone (honestly) that they will be better, the sun rises on your own belief about what the future holds. It encourages you.
You cannot lift someone else up without stretching yourself. The converse is also true: You cannot put someone down without lowering yourself.
Encouragement lifts you as you lift others.
Pick a person you will see today that you can encourage. Share in the comments what you will say to inject courage into someone else today. Better yet, send them an Amazon e-gift card to brighten their day. (Don’t forget to include encouraging words!)
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