Encouragement and Toughness

Encouraging the heart is really about leadership. With that said encouraging people is not about being soft. Encouraging the heart is about the whole game of life. It's about being in the trenches and engaging life. There are ups and downs in life and because of that, encouragement may need to be a bit tough.

My wife is Italian. I love her spunk. A few years back I went through a deep bout of depression. I did not sleep for almost three days. I stayed in bed with the covers up over my head and begged God to help me sleep. What pulled me out of that state was some tough words from my wife. She crawled on top on me...got in my face...and said, "Pull out of this! I can't stand to see you this way!" She was rather tough on me. I pulled the covers off of me, said, "Fine!", got up, washed my face and began living again. She wasn't soft. She was tough. She did come to me later and express her deep love for me.

Toughness expressed the right way at the right time can be encouraging. Encouraging the heart is about "toughness and tenderness, guts and grace, firmness and fairness, fortitude and gratitude, passion and compassion (Kaozes and Posner, 2003). Encouragement is about keeping hope alive. That's it...HOPE. The word hope is so important to anyone who lives life. Cancer Treatment Center of America has people flying in from all over the country. Why? Because they focus on HOPE. They encourage and give hope.

Hope is the essential ingredient of encouragement. I can only imagine how Michael Jordan felt when he was cut from his high school basketball team. I have a feeling that sometime after he was cut from the team someone spoke some tough words of life into his heart. He seized hope that was given him through words of encouragement and did not give up. He went on to be one of the greatest basketball stars of all time.

If you are discouraged today let me be a bit tough with you...look up! Get up from where you are and move forward. You are called to greatness. It doesn't matter what obstacle is in front of you, take hold of it and move through it. Don't stop. Be encouraged because hope does not disappoint the heart.

It's your turn now...speak life giving words to someone else. Change your world one person at a time.

Be Encouraged,
Rick