Good Things - 12/6/09

Words of Encouragement.

In the spirit of Christmas I thought for the next few weeks I'd try to focus on what we can give to others rather than just what we can do for ourselves.

Words of encouragement sounds like an easy, no-brainer kind of thing but it can sometimes be more difficult that we think.

I'm not really talking about compliments here; I'm talking real, honest-to-goodness encouragement. Helping each other when we're down. Boosting each other over the humps that we will inevitably hit.

Still sounds easy, doesn't it?

Here is what I sometimes find. Even though women all talk about sisterhood, we can be each other's worst enemy. Sometimes we start to view someone else's success as a reflection of our own failure. We go from "Boy you look beautiful" to telling someone else "I can't believe she wore that dress!" We compare ourselves in negative ways so therefore we start to not truly encourage but to secretly hope for failure.

We don't tell someone that they shouldn't eat that cake because we don't want them to lose more weight than us. We don't offer to go on a walk with them and help them with their exercise because they might look better at the Christmas party next week.

That kind of makes us ugly on the inside, doesn't it?

We should, instead, help each other. Confident in knowing that we will be the recipient of that same help when we need it.

Wars are not won by individual soldiers. Football games are not won just by the quarterback.

This is a team effort I'm talking about. Everyone reading this does, or at least should, have someone that is supporting them. You know you've got me at a minimum. Likewise, I know I have all of you.

So let's remember to help not only each other, but everyone that we come in contact with. We don't always know what someone may be struggling with, but if we can somehow lend support, then we should do it.

So, my words of encouragement to each of you are these: Love yourself. You look marvelous no matter where you are in your quest for your goals. Don't give up hope when it seems impossible. Be fair and honest with yourself.

And above all, enjoy the ride. Life is a journey, after all.