Encouragement: Encouragement is the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope. It involves positive feedback that highlights the good in effort or achievement, aiming to strengthen motivation and enhance the continuation of desired behaviors or the undertaking of new challenges. Encouragement is not just about praising someone; it’s about providing the courage and strength to continue or try harder.
NOTE: We can be on either end of encouragement. We can encourage another and lift their spirits giving them our confidence that they can accomplish the task set before them. We can also be on receiving end of encouragement. We can be in a highly anxious state in a critical situation when someone whose word we trust makes all the differences to us. I’ve been on the receiving end and the encouragement I received made all the difference. In one instance, I was a high school junior on the high school baseball team. I came to bat with the bases loaded in a tight game. I was tense. Coach Stan must have seen the tension in my arms. The count was three balls and two strikes when he called time and called me over. I had no clue what he wanted. He smiled, patted me on the back and said, ‘You got this.’ I did. I hit the next pitch for a long double and cleared the bases. Thanks Coach Stan for the vote of confidence.