Want Encouragement? Be Encouraging.

Yesterday, I was blessed to have a few friends calling me seeking encouragement.  There have been many times in my life that I might have seen these calls as a bother or an intrusion.  But now I understand that these calls are a blessing.  Because few things in life are as encouraging as an opportunity to encourage another person.  I always walk away from these experiences feeling energized and ready to take on the world.  After all, somebody thinks maybe I know something about something.  That's kind of cool.  And when I help other people, I sometimes realize I am a little more of an expert than I thought.

Of course, there's a big difference between encouragement and advice.  Lord knows, I've offered plenty of unsolicited advice in my life and have paid a heavy price.  But when I can remember (which 'aint often, God bless me) I try to offer encouragement instead of advice.  I have such great encouragers in my life to observe and learn from.  There's Kimmy and Alison and Kate and Brian and Mary Ann and too many others to name.  When I watch them I see.  They do not say, "well you can do it, if you do it like I did it".  Nope.  Uh uh.  They say, "well OF COURSE you can do it, because you're awesome."

When I get this kind of encouragement, I feel ten feet tall.  But when I give this kind of encouragement, I also feel ten feet tall.  And while I can't control when I get encouraged, I can control when I encourage other people.  This means I can potentially feel ten feet tall, all the time.

So I'm encouraging you to go out there and encourage somebody else.  Of COURSE you can do it.  Because you're awesome!

Love,
The Fat Chick