The Power of Encouragement
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela
I don’t believe anyone would deny that encouragement matters. For me, I’ve been hearing encouragement for weeks. In podcasts, books I’ve been reading, sermons at church, and even my own personal Bible studies. It all has brought me back to a personal story I have that demonstrates the right encouragement at the right time makes a huge difference. Let me take you back to a recent college graduate, Nick, and how you often don’t realize how you can impact another’s life.
I finished my undergraduate studies in December, a little more than a week before Christmas. Over the holidays leading up to that, we are just coming out of some major family illness that had taken a lot out of my family throughout the year, then comes the loss of my grandfather right at Thanksgiving.
What a time to graduate college… It was a huge milestone in my life, and we didn’t celebrate. There was too much going on to celebrate. Already after not having been done with classes for long, I was feeling the pressure of finding a job. My bank account was dwindling, no applications were yielding calls, and the common advice I kept getting was, “Your expectations are too high. Just take a job, any job, then worry about finding a job for your degree after.”
I felt and believed that just taking a job was not what I was supposed to do. I felt like an entry-level corporate job was likely my first step, and I was determined to keep pursuing that end until I had no other options.
The week before Christmas, I walked into the local Barnes & Noble and saw one of my very early college advisors whom I had not seen in about three years. I tell her about just graduating, not being able to find a job yet, and feeling somewhat discouraged. She gave me the one thing I had not received from anyone else until now. Encouragement.
This lady hugged me, congratulated me, told me she was proud of me, and said she wanted to give one piece of advice to me. “Don’t settle for just anything. Wait for God to open the right door at the right time. You will know when it’s that opportunity, and you will excel. Don’t rush into something just to say you have a job. Follow what you know in your heart is right.”
Right there. My entire outlook changed! Just a simple action and words immediately took me from a low place mentally and emotionally to a place that reassured me of what I was doing. It was the support and confirmation I needed.
When you’re giving someone encouragement, it can be simple, nothing crazy. This lady had no idea what I was feeling or thinking. Just being kind and offering genuinely helpful words. Most of the advice I received was people’s opinions. In this instance, it was someone’s advice that was meant to help, not their opinion. That one interaction kept me positive, optimistic, and looking forward to what my job would ultimately be. The interviews came, a job offer came, and the start of my professional career was just around the corner. Before that conversation, I couldn’t see it yet.
Encourage others. It’s simple. Not complicated. It may make a difference in a person’s life when they need it most! The person you’re interacting with may be mentally or emotionally drained. Often those people don’t need an opinion, they need some encouraging words to help them keep going.
Now for an added challenge to my readers here. If someone has made that impact or encouraged you. Tell them. Send them a thank you note, email, letter, something! I sat down around two months after this instance I shared and wrote an email to this lady thanking her for giving me encouragement when I desperately needed it.
Nick Dyson is the owner of Dyson Leadership and is a
Maxwell Leadership Certified Speaker, Trainer, and Coach. Providing Leadership coaching, training, workshops, Lunch & Learns, and more!
To learn more about training provided by Dyson Leadership, visit our webpage.
