Instant Life Enhancement Achieved with Encouragement!
Paul White's nationally distributed syndicated column, “Instant Life Enhancement Achieved with Encouragement!” is published in 22 publications across seven states. This includes the following newspapers and digital publications: Midland Daily News (MI), SFGate (CA), Seattle PI (WA), Connecticut Post (CT), Laredo Morning Times (TX), Huron Daily Tribune (MI), The Telegraph (IL), and more. In this week's article, Paul shares a story about the power of encouragement, and how using it can positively impact your life.
You can’t help but believe in miracles when you witness the birth of your child. I mean, c’mon, watching a baby human being enter the world and take their first breath? Honestly, it’s a little overwhelming. When our first son was born, INSTANTLY his life became way more important than ours. And that’s when the promises began. The first promise being that we were going to be the best parents in the entire world…and we meant it!
Right away I had to embrace a new form of English called Baby Talk…. “You’re just the cutest little baby in the whole entire world. Yes you are, yes you are! Goochy Goochy Goo!” Side note: Baby Talk does not work well with other adults. Great for babies. Not so much with adults…especially the Goochy Goochy Goo part.
Now, one of the first things you pull out of your “Tool Kit for Life” as a new parent is The Power of ENCOURAGEMENT! It occurs quite naturally as you hold your infant approximately 12 inches in front of your face while repeating the baby talk word DA-DA over five hundred times in a row. “DA-DA, DA-DA, DA-DA” every once in a while tossing some encouragement into the mix. “Come on! You can say it! You can do it! Come on! DA-DA, DA-DA, DA-DA”…. Our son would become fixated on my face which had wide-open eyes and a smile so wide I could eat a banana sideways.
I did this day after day until he finally spoke his first actual word, which was…. (drumroll please)… MA-MA! Hey, I get it! After all, Mom was the one providing nourishment day and night and all dad was doing was making funny faces and saying the same thing over and over which was beginning to become annoying. At the time, I settled on the belief that it was my encouragement that had taught our son to talk.
That’s when I realized that this encouragement strategy worked so well teaching him to speak that I began to develop a deeper understanding of its power. I used it constantly, over and over, to help him discover how to crawl, how to pull up on a table or chair to obtain a standing position, and finally how to walk. By the time he learned to walk, I had subconsciously become a Professional Encourager (I hope you read “Professional Encourager” in a deep booming voice because I wrote it with a really deep booming voice). Everything was going great!!
And then it stopped! Why? Safety, of course. As parents, we had entered the phase of life where negative commands were spewing from our mouths. STOP! DON’T! NO! We used them constantly to prevent anything from harming our child. The only problem was that our sons developing view of the world began to change, and we didn’t notice it….until, by some miracle…I read some data claiming by the time a child reaches the age of 7, they average hearing 10 negative comments for every 1 positive affirmation. I immediately realized that if I wanted to be the best Dad in the entire world, I needed to turn that statistic completely around.
So, I once again focused on utilizing the POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT! And it worked so well, I expanded it! You see, I began to utilize encouragement in every area of my life. With my wife, my parents, my siblings, my co-workers, my friends. And then I used it with every person I encountered each day whenever an opportunity presented itself. And you know what I discovered? EVERYONE CRAVES AND APPRECIATES ENCOURAGEMENT! Including me! I finally realized that encouragement had the power to change people’s life when utilized correctly. Encouragement helped people believe in themselves which allowed them to make a positive difference in the world in their own unique way.
SO….WHAT ABOUT YOU? Have you ever thought about the role encouragement plays in your life?...both on the receiving and sharing sides of its use? Probably not…until right now. I want to encourage each of you to embrace the Power of Encouragement that exists in abundance inside of you and start having a positive impact on every person you encounter each day. Begin by practicing with your loved ones, your co-workers, your friends, and then others. Be on the constant lookout for opportunities to encourage others. Those opportunities are literally all around you each day. You just haven’t been looking for them. And be prepared for an instant improvement in your own life as you encourage others in theirs. Help people believe in themselves, and always remember that, Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!
Paul White is a guest columnist and author. Purchase his life-changing book “The Answer Discovery – How to Change the World by Helping Others…and Ourselves” at http://bit.ly/PaulWhiteAmazon. If you’re interested in getting in touch with Paul, please submit an inquiry via our Contact Page.