Encouragement

Encouragement is something so vital in life, that it often is taken for granted. It's funny how some of the most important things in life seem to be this way....taken for granted or just simply unapprecitated. I challenge anyone reading this to take a minute sometime and think of a way to encourage, or just plain support someone in your life. Be it family or a stranger, it doesn't matter, as it will be appreciated more than you know.

One of the reasons I feel that encouragement is so important is because I know what it's like to have it void in my life. No support on my decisions. No understanding on my career ambitions. It's unfortunate, yes, but the purpose of this blog is not for pity, but to adequately describe the importance of such a unseemingly insignificant thing that has great impact in the lives of people.

Want proof that encouragement goes a long way? Here's my personal story:

       In middle school, I always had a strong desire to become a runner....to join the Cross Country team and just run. It's an unexplainable feeling, as I don't know why exactly I felt like I would love running, but I guess sometimes you just feel drawn to certain things. Call it destiny if you would like, but I'd like to think that maybe you are unexplainibly drawn to things or people for the reason that they have something to teach you. Well, if this is true, then I have definitly learned things that have aided in personal growth by joining the Cross Country team in high school.

       By no means was I the best runner. In fact, I was the worst...one of the the last runners to finish on my team. I tried my hardest to not let this get to me because I just loved running more than you would imagine. I could easily put up with the hot days and vicious speed work sessions because I was doing something I've always wanted to do. I felt like I was apart of something important, that I found and was involved with one of my passions in life. It was a very exciting feeling, a feeling that the people around me probably never knew I had.

      So, how does this fit in with encouragement? Well, it was the day of my first race. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I didn't know what to expect really, but just the sheer experience of something new was exhilaraing to me. In the back of my head, I knew that I wouldn't finish with a "good" time....I was the worst runner on the team for crying out loud. So, when the finish line was within sight and my lungs felt ready to burst, it was easy to give in to feelings of not being good enough....of inadequacy and defeat. It was easy to quit, to give up on doing your best in that single moment when doing your best can define success or failure. It was unfortunate too, because there was a girl just a few feet in front of me that I just didn't have the energy to pass. Or did I? Rounding the curve on the track, I suddenly began to hear my team mates and assistant coach cheering from afar. They sounded really excited for some reason, like how you are at the race track when your horse is about to win. I could tell they were cheering, but it was just noise to me at first. Then, I realized that their cheers were for me. Me! They were eagerly cheering for me to pass the girl in front of me....to pass her on this last homestretch.

      Just a few seconds and the race would be all over. I didn't have the energy. I was exhausted out of my mind, but such a powerful feeling overcame me that I don't think I will ever forget it. The encouragement from my team made me dig down deep and find it in myself to pass this girl. I sprinted to the finish line and before I knew what I was doing, I had passed right by her. I know that I wouldn't of, that I would have placed one spot further in the race if it was not for the cheering of my team....for their encouragement. Someone believing in you and encouraging you can make all the difference sometimes. You may not always realize that it does, but to the person on the receiving end, it can mean the world to them. Sure, maybe I did suck, but if I would have started running years ago when I wanted, not caring what anyone would think, I would have been good by the time when I actually did decide to start running. Regardless, I still love running now and is something I could never willingly part from.
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I believe that you ALWAYS have the capacity to become better at something. You decide it and you can become it! Along the way, encouragement can get you a long way, but don't ever forget to believe in yourself....to encourage yourself. This is perhaps one of the hardest things to do, for the sole fact that it takes a great amount of strengh to do....to disregard personal weakness and be who or what no one else thinks you can be. But you can do it! It has been done and there's no reason why it can't be done by you too.

Encouragemnet. I encourage you to go out and keep this story in the back of your mind as an example of what such a thing can do for someone, and don't be afraid to do it every once and awhile...it will be appreciated.  :)