I have worked for people that are excellent encouragers and then others who don’t have a clue what encouragement means. According to Dictionary.com the word “encourage” means “To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.” Working for the people who operated in encouragement was immensely more enjoyable than working for those who did not have a clue.
I have to really practice encouraging my children and it is something that I have had to work at-a lot. I used to be more bent toward seeing the negative things in life, especially when going through trying times such as my divorce. In addition, it is easy for me fall into the role of Major Mom and bark orders instead of attempting to inspire my children with hope and confidence. As a single parent there is always so much to do and it never seems to end. We get tired, overwhelmed at times and really stressed. Especially during these times, it can become very difficult to encourage.
Being around other encouragers is contagious, and it really helps me to crawl out of trying circumstances, or just day to day blah’s when I am around people that are encouraging. It is crucial to our survival for single parents to have a good support network. Don’t rely on one friend to meet all of your friendship needs. This is unfair to him or her and may place unnecessary strain on the friendship. Make several friendships with different types of people-introverted, extroverted, single, married, men and women. It is ok to tell people that you need help including encouragement. I have a friend that just seems to sense when I need some uplifting and is there with some verbal comfort words. After I soak in those for a while, then I am better prepared to encourage my children and others.
Listening to inspirational speakers, such as Joel Osteen , and reading an inspirational devotion or poetry also helps to pick me up out of the mullygrubs and enables me to encourage others.
Make friends with people who are encouragers and even if you don’t peg yourself as being an encourager, you might find it rubbing off on you and you might just start speaking with more encouragement to others.