Encouragement and Praise

 

 

 

The sweetest of all sounds is praise

 

Xenophon

 

 

Providing encouragement to your family, your friends, or anyone you interact with can directly affect their happiness and their accomplishments. Every person has their own particular talents. Every person has goals which they would like to achieve. Encouragement and support from others often makes the difference in whether someone achieves or fails. Also, encouragement and praise affects the way a person feels about what they are doing or what they have achieved.

 

It is very natural for any of us to want encouragement and approval from our family, whether it is parents, spouses, children, sisters, brothers, or whomever. Achievement by anyone is certainly enhanced by positive feedback or praise from others. The desire for praise and feedback is also important at work, or school, or wherever you spend time. It is a very natural human trait, although some people need more than others.

 

Often it is much easier to give encouragement or praise to someone who is striving for something you think is good. Parents emphasizing education is a good example. Virtually all parents want their children to do well and to be happy, and thus encourage them to obtain formal education or other types of training. The previous chapter on education strongly emphasizes that path to improvement. However, it takes more thoughtfulness and sensitivity to give encouragement when someone's objectives or path for advancement are different from what you consider important. If a person believes in what they are trying to achieve and it provides them self improvement, then encouragement and praise will be helpful. Also, you don't want to encourage someone along a path which they won't be happy with or which can be detrimental to them. Be open-minded about someone's objectives when giving them encouragement.

 

Praise and encouragement to anyone you interact with, whether at work or play, provides a positive feeling to them and to you. Think about occasions when someone has complimented you on something you have done. Think about how good it made you feel, how it made your day. Your encouragement to others can provide that same good feeling to you.

 

There is a difference between encouraging someone to achieve and demanding that they achieve. It is certainly good to give encouragement. However, demanding that someone achieve at all costs and without consideration to their desires or their own goals is not true encouragement. Encourage with sensitivity.

 

It is worthwhile to encourage anyone to strive for their best in whatever they do. One of the American military organizations used a slogan which includes the line:

 

Be all that you can be.

 

This saying captures the essence of encouragement. It is a very encouraging six words which you can say to anyone striving for accomplishment or self improvement. It is also a good thought to keep in your own mind when you are working toward any goal. The emphasis is on encouragement to do well at whatever you are doing.

 

The following is a personal experience on encouragement which affected me significantly. When I was in high school, there was a scholarship offered for the first time by the Civic League of my hometown. Our counselor and teacher, Loraine DeMarlo, caught up with me on the last day for application of the scholarship. She encouraged me to apply for it. My grades were good, but my family was not financially able to send me to college. Without financial aid, college was not likely. Based on her encouragement, I did apply and was selected for the scholarship. Even though it was for only one year and was not a large amount, it enabled me to get started in college and to make it the rest of the way. It's a pleasure to say; "she changed the rest of my life" because of her encouragement.

 

 

 

So, what can you do relative to encouragement?

 

 

Encourage people to strive to achieve their goals.

 

Suggest options of ways to achieve and improve.

 

Praise others for their efforts and accomplishments.

 

Look for the good qualities in others and compliment them.

 

Give encouragement whenever you can - it's positive and satisfying.