We Should Give Out Encouragement Like Halloween Candy
Today I got a haircut from one of my friends. She’s new at this. She was nervous. I could tell she was nervous because her hands were shaking a bit at first.
I felt so bad for her, but she did a great job!
And I told her that.
And I tipped her damn well because she’s a freaking peach.
I did this because I saw myself in her so much. When I started writing two years ago I had no confidence. I felt I was a shitty writer (maybe I still am). I felt this because nobody told me I was any good yet.
I eventually gained confidence, but it was a slow process. I’d get tidbits of praise from people, but they just felt like mid-evening sprinklings in the middle of a drought.
I never received that full on downpour of encouragement from anybody.
I don’t understand why this is. We literally have so many methods of communication yet we find it so hard to give praise to people.
We should be handing out encouragement like freaking Halloween candy.
I texted my friend after the haircut and went on and on. The joyful response I got back from her made my day. I could tell my words meant a lot, and they do for everyone!
I’m sick of people berating words. “Sticks and stones,” they say.
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”
-Dumbledore
J.K. Rowling wrote it best.
So please, hand out some encouragement this week. Be generous. Take a few extra seconds with your text messages and calls. Tell someone something you’ve never told them before.
You’ll be surprised how much it’ll mean to both of you.
In case you wanted to get an inside look on my life as a Digital Nomad/Freelance writer, I wrote a free Ebook about it as a quick introduction. You may download it below if you so please. Thanks for reading!
