I Was Going to Have to Stop before I Finished

The difference a little encouragement can make

I’ll never forget the first time I ran an actual 5K race.  This was several years ago, but I can close my eyes and recapture the emotions as if it were yesterday.  I’ve never been much of a runner, but I had a few friends who were doing the race so I thought I would give it a try.  The first mile wasn’t bad but the second mile started to get harder.  By the time I was into the third mile, I was tired and in pain.  I had a side-ache and knew I was going to have to stop before I finished. 

Then I came around a corner and noticed some people on the side of the street.  As they saw me coming, they started hollering and cheering.  A couple people even had signs saying “You can do it!”  How amazing!  These people that I had never met were yelling for and encouraging ME!  I felt a rush of energy.  Their words and enthusiasm as I ran by were fueling me so I could keep going.  It was a fantastic experience!

What if we encouraged and cheered each other on more in our daily lives? How might it fuel us and motivate us to keep going, especially when things seem overwhelming or hard?  I have a few dear friends who have showed me what this feels like.  What a gift!  The crazy thing is, it brings me great joy to encourage and support them too.  

Who do you know that could use a little extra motivation?  Consider shooting them an email or giving them a call to show your support.  You never know how big of an impact it can have on them (and on you).

Tina Hallis, Ph.D. is Chief Positivity Officer of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to helping people and organizations increase their positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures. She is certified in Positive Psychology, an authorized partner for Everything DiSC®, and a Professional Member of the National Speaker’s Association.