Do you ENCOURAGE, MOTIVATE and INSPIRE? 

As you read the following definitions, I want you to think about the last time you felt encouraged, motivated or inspired by someone’s words or actions and the last time you maybe helped someone else feel that way by your own words or actions.  Lastly, and probably most importantly, I want you to really think about the last time you encouraged, motivated or inspired yourself. 

Encourage - means to give support, confidence or hope to someone. 

Motivate – means to provide someone with a reason for doing something or to stimulate interest and enthusiasm for doing something.

Inspire – means to fill someone with urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

Ever wonder what the world would look like if no one ever encouraged, tried to motivate or inspire anyone else through their words or actions?  

I am assuming many talented people, people suffering with illnesses or disabilities and people struggling with low self-esteem and low self-confidence just to name a few would go unnoticed, give up, avoid trying, never progress and never know their true potential. The world would be a dull place.  A sad place.  Many people would feel hopeless.

We need to be aware of the role we play as an "encourager" to those around us.  Who in your life do you have the power to encourage?  Who can you inspire and motivate by your words and actions?  We all have people – even strangers and it doesn’t take much.  In fact, it’s surprising how little effort it does take from each us to encourage another person every day.  This makes me wonder why more of us aren’t doing it.

Are you waiting for someone to encourage you?

One truly sad fact is that many people wait on the encouragement of others before taking action. Some of us will never step out or face a fear without an entourage of encouragement from others.  We want the cheering squad before we even attempt to make the goal!  This attitude puts the pressure on others to make us feel good or feel okay in order to move forward.  It’s almost like we want their permission or approval.  We can come up with so many excuses of why we can’t do something until someone says something encouraging to motivate or inspire us.  But what happens when no one is there to encourage us?  Who are we left with? Who are we with the most every single moment of every single day?  Ourselves!  So why do we wait on others for encouragement when we can just do it for ourselves? 

If you’ve suffered from low self-esteem, or low confidence, or rejection or experienced some truly painful events in your life, this may have been blocking your ability to encourage, motivate and inspire yourself.  It doesn’t have to stay that way.  We all have the power within us to find words of encouragement and we all have the strength in us to press on in the face of a challenge, a fear or a situation that will bring us to the next level of growth.  Bring your focus away from the expectation or hope that someone else will give you the encouragement you think you need and instead focus every day on your role in encouraging others and most importantly, yourself! Be bold, stop comparing yourself to others and give up the excuses.  Learn to hear the divine internal guidance within you (God’s voice) and stop listening to self-defeating messages that play in your head.  Don’t let fear or doubt stand in your way.

Encouragement takes a word, a moment to notice something good about someone else, an action that says, “you matter and I support you” and it can be done every day with those we influence or come in contact with, including ourselves.

Encourage someone today.  Motivate and inspire someone.  And don’t forget to do this for yourself too! You may be surprised at how the favor gets returned!

Sheri