Listen as Jr tells us how to be a better encourager.
Every day my wife writes me a note. It started when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I knew I needed to eat healthier and start taking better care of myself. My wife was so supportive, and every day she would get up and fix me a healthy breakfast and put it in an isolated bag. Every day inside that bag was a note. She would tell me how proud she was of me, she would tell me how good I was doing, and she would tell me how much she loved me. They would always say something different, but every day there was a note.
Behind my desk in my office is a black wooden box, that box is filled with those notes. I’ve kept every single one of them, they mean the world to me. That’s been over three years ago and she is still writing me notes.
Have you ever received a handwritten note? Maybe it was from someone in your family, or from a dear friend. Remember how it made you feel? How many times did you read it? Where did you put it? Do you ever pull it out and read it again? Didn’t it feel good to know that someone noticed you?
You have the power to make someone else feel that same way. Who do you know that could use some encouragement? Someone who has done something special, or someone you appreciate. You may say, I tell people how much I appreciate them all the time. And that’s great. We should verbalize appreciation, but verbal appreciation can fade quickly unlike verbal criticism which we roll around in our minds for a long time. Sometimes it really haunts us. It’s easy to forget the good things that people say to us. Do you know what lasts longer? A Hand. Written. Note. Tell them they are good at something, tell them you’re proud of them, tell them that you love them. It may only take you a few minutes, but the impact will last a lifetime.