Encouragement: Pass It On!

October 14, 2011

Hi everyone! I want to start off this post by saying that I was going to right about what a drag life is being with school and its many tests and piles of homework, PSAT having been taken this previous Wednesday, ACT coming up next Saturday, volleyball and its horrible self...but I'm not. At yesterday's game I discovered a new and better topic that really needs to be shown and light shed on. A topic that most people nudge to a corner and let the cobwebs take over. A topic that is forgotten. And it's sad that encouragement isn't given as it should.

Encouragement. A thirteen letter word that could mean the whole world to somebody. 

Discouragement. A fourteen letter word that could crush a person's entire self esteem and self-confidence. 

As a person who isn't very self-confident, I know how it feels to be lifted by one's kind words of encouragement...and I know how it feels to be torn down by someone's discouragement by pointing out what I did wrong and fussing and giving nasty looks and what not. I've been there. I've done that. 

This quote  in the picture above is true. And I found it to be true when a friend encourages me...but I never got to experience it the other way around. yesterday at the volleyball game, I encouraged the JV girls as I waited for my Varsity game. Even while some were on the bench, I sat there and talked with them to get the nerves away and so that they know to 'try their best...even if your best isn't good, if you try you're doing great. If you don't try, then you should just sit down.'  {words from me.} I told them not to worry about what the other girls on the team say when they are fussing or rolling their eyes or making nasty faces. I told them to brush that off and try their best. Even if you screw up, brush that off and try something different. If coach pulls you out, at least you tried. You CANNOT win all the games. Don't get upset. You tried and that's what matters. As long as you have HEART and TRY, you are the true winner. You may not have physically won the game, but you mentally won because you tried your best, kept a good ATTITUDE, had good sportsmanship, and kept your head up. 

 It really irks me when I see a girl or boy for that matter trying at a sport or something and end up messing up...and then an older player on that team is all like 'WTH was that? I mean really? All these practices and you STILL can't do it??? WHAT?!?!?' and then motions to the coach to put a person in for the one that messed up. It aggravates me to no end. The person tried. Did they want that person to just sit back and watch the ball fall at their feet? Or did they want that person to just stand back and let the other team score a point? And be all 'be my guest. I'm not going to try to get the point back.' No. Because then the older players will fuss even more. It's a no-win situation. You just cannot get any encouragement from some people these days. 

If you tear down someone on your team by fussing at them, giving them nasty looks, rolling your eyes at them, motioning 'secretly' to the coach to take them out...that's just going to make the person want to NOT try anymore. It makes them give up. And your team will lose. 

Instead just say "Good try!" and you'll see them smile. Or if they do good, say "Good/Great JOB!" and smile or high five them and you'll see a new change of atmosphere and your team will try even more and pull together as a team even more and maybe, just maybe, you'll end up winning the game. :) 

A little encouragement goes a long way. As I cheered for the JV girls and told them 'good try' when they messed up so they wouldn't beat themselves up over it. I had one girl come up to me and tell me 'thanks for the encouragement...I didn't think I could do it...but you're the most helpful one out here...thanks!' And I felt good... and self-confidence levels went up nearly everywhere in that game. 

My little brother told me as I was writing this that he was playing a game with his friends that divided into teams at school and his team lost...but he went to the other team and told them 'good game' . He said was 'just trying to make a compliment.' How weird and ironic it is that he would say that while I'm typing this blog post... :) Even six year olds know about encouragement. 

Do you? Pass it on~ :)

*~Keep your lights shining! Encourage someone today :)

*~KayKay