6 practical tips on encouraging others

"Worry weighs a person down; but an encouraging word cheers a person up." 

Proverbs 12:25

I think we've all had days or times where we've felt down, unmotivated, discouraged, or afraid. and if you're lucky like me, you've also experienced the power of a single, encouraging statement. It doesn't even have to come at a time when you're feeling low, as a general rule of thumb, encouragement gives you that extra boost in the day and stride in your step to lift you up and shine a ray of sunshine on your path. So I randomly came up with 6 practical tips on how to share the gift of encouragement to others :)

wait sorry before I launch into the specifics, the overarching umbrella is from Mark 12:31 "Love your neighbor as yourself." or in other words, approach encouragement the way you would want to be encouraged :) 

1. Be Specific

Choose something specific which you particularly appreciated rather than something generic

eg. "I love how you did an epic build up on the drums during the bridge! It really suited the lyrics and added to the energy!" Rather than just "You're good at music"

2. Don't wait for the "right time" to encourage someone

Even if it's 5 days later over a fb message at 10pm, just say it! I'm sure it will make their day-only you feel self conscious about it. In any case, doesn't it make you extra happy when someone randomly messages you to encourage you? :)

3. Encourage anyone and everyone!

Don't hold back and only encourage your best buddies for life. If a stranger or someone you just met does something that you appreciated, let them know! In fact, it will be even more flattering coming from someone new.

4. Encourage them to keep doing what you think they're doing well

Sometimes people aren't aware that things they are doing are good/helpful/significant, affirm them so they can be more intentional about continuing it in the future, it makes the world of difference. 

Eg. I want to encourage you to keep using gestures when you give a talk, it really helps to engage the audience!

5. Don't neglect leaders or people you think it should be "obvious" for

If someone is "obviously" good at singing, don't dismiss your encouragement because you think they probably already know, imagine if everyone else thought the same thing and held back? That person (like all humans) is still prone to feelings of insecurity or self doubt. Same with leaders, encouraging your leaders does wonders in motivating their leadership of the group, even if they "seem" confident in themselves. Everyone needs a word of encouragement, even superman does. (see song "It's not easy" by clicking here)

6. Don't be afraid to get personal. 

If something someone said or did genuinely made an impact on you in some way, share how with them! They may not have thought that much about it and so would be pleasantly surprised to see that some "small" thing they did or said was able to make a difference in your life.

These are just my thoughts though-please comment below if you have any other tips you want to add, or any stories of where encouragement made a difference in your life. :) Thanks for reading, I really appreciate how you took the time to read my blog post which was admittedly a bit long and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. X)

During this past year while I had mild depression, my mum has been a massive source of encouragement and support. It has made a world of difference :) 

ask me about it if you'd like to find out more!