Have you encouraged yourself today?
I read a quote the other day that struck a few chords with me.
Josh S. Hinds said:
“Don’t be stingy with your encouragement. Your words can be a catalyst for untold change in the lives of others.”
How many times have you heard, ‘Well done’, ‘good job’ or ‘I’m proud of you’ today? This week? This month? Probably not too many times, am I right?
Encouraging others doesn’t always come naturally. At least, it didn’t for me. I found it quite emotionally draining to encourage other people, especially when I needed encouragement myself. That’s not to say I didn’t mean every word when I did offer encouragement, it just means that I had to remind myself to praise others when they had done a good job, despite how I was feeling about myself at the time.
I believe that encouraging someone – and truly meaning it – is affected by a number of factors:
* How much encouragement we received as children (assuming that it would come naturally if we were encouraged often);
* Our own self esteem, which, if you read my last blog, can be knocked down by many different things, and
* How often we build ourselves up.
Encouragement is not dished out nearly as often as it should these days, no matter how hard we work or the results we achieve. But seeing the look of appreciation on someone else’s face when their hard work is recognised is priceless.
If you don’t have enough energy in your reserves to spend on encouraging others, at least use what energy you do have to encourage and motivate yourself. If not you, then who else is going to do it?
The only person who will recognise your achievements, pat you on the back and say ‘good work’ for a job well done, is you. You are your biggest fan (well, I’m your biggest fan, too, but I can’t always be by your side, spurring you on). You are your best motivator to keep going, even when you’re feeling down in the dumps and have no energy to get out of bed.
Have your pity party but then get up and show up for yourself. Every day. Look in the mirror and say, “You are amazing. You can achieve your goals because you have a plan and a strategy to work through that plan. You’ve got this.”
Something amazing happens when you put these types of positive vibes out into the universe. The universe hears you and she reciprocates with even more positivity, hope and faith. Through the law of attraction, what you put out, so you will get back in return.
I’m making more of an effort to not only encourage and congratulate myself but also my clients, my children and my friends. We don’t hear it enough these days and I truly believe we’d all be happier if we built each other up more.
I’ll leave you with another quote, by the man himself, Joseph Pilates: “Through the Pilates method of body conditioning, this unique trinity of balanced body, mind and spirit can ever be attained. Self-confidence follows.”
And, in case no one has told you today, keep up the good work. You’re doing an amazing job and I am so proud of you!
