Auntie Karen led the team devotions today at the office. The topic was on encouraging others. It has reminded me once again that there is importance in encouraging others. I used to do it.... sent emails once in a while just to encourage friends. But I guess due to the busyness in life... i got no chance to do it continuously.
According to her... there are two kinds of encouragement. One is affirming others of what they do - expressing gratitude, acknowledging them, and communicating our appreciation for their efforts (whether succesful or not). The other one is affirming others of who they are.
Ways to encourage others include: spoken word, written word, and actions.
Also there are five ground rules for being a Good Encourager:
1. Base your encouraging on obeying God, not on your feelings.
2. Be sensitive to cultural differences.
3. Avoid flattery and too many compliments.
4. Begin with your family.
5. Find out what encourages the other person.
few things in life enables us to flourish as much as encouragement. It empowers us, motivates us, strengthens us, cheers us on, builds us up, and gives us courage. All these results come from such a small investment of time and energy.
Note: Karen attended the "Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills" seminar and this was one of the topics.
I really hope to be able to encourage friends again...
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