This
is something I thought needed to be shared...
*~*~*~*
Many years ago,
when I first shared my dream of being a songwriter with one of my best friends,
she knitted her brows and said, “Huh?”
I can’t say I was
deflated by all of the warnings that followed. After all, I had always been
surrounded by this kind of “practical thinking.” In fact, I probably shared my
dream with her just so she’d
talk me out of it.
During this
fumbling stumbling time in my life, I met a man who became an unlikely best
friend and mentor. He was a brilliant jazz musician, and he could do pretty
much anything on the computer.
One night, after
he performed at a local jazz club, we were walking towards my car. I told him
my dream of being a songwriter. Without even blinking, he said, “Honey (he
always called me Honey), you’d be a fabulous
songwriter. That’s perfect!” And he meant it.
At that moment, I
felt like I was falling into a soft clean bed. I had never experienced such direct and truthful encouragement
without a single “practical” warning attached to it. This friend set me free by
offering one simple thing:
Encouragement.
Fast forward many
years and successes and failures later. I’m surrounded by encouragers. I’m sure
there are doubters around. But they don’t register anymore.
Also, I have
become an extreme encourager myself.
I’ve observed
extreme encouragers. I’ve also recognized some traits that they all have in
common. Here they are:
• An extreme encourager lives
by example
The best
encouragers are the ones who live it. Whether they’re just getting started, or
they’re veteran risk-taking creativity-living wild-women – the encouragers are
the ones who want a bigger life for themselves and are willing to “go there.”
This is why my jazz musician friend could simply offer encouragement when my
other friend could not.
• An
extreme encourager actively listens
Encouragers know
that encouragement doesn’t mean you just tell people to “buck up” or “get over
it.” They know how to listen. This means looking at the speaker, listening to
her, setting agendas and judgments aside, and honoring the speaker as a wise
soul.
• An
extreme encourager avoids clichés
Avoiding clichés
is actually a result of actively listening to someone. Being an extreme
encourager doesn’t mean that you blindly tell people “You can do it!” or “Let
go of fear!” It’s deeper than that. It’s seeing the truth of the other person,
especially when they cannot.
• An extreme encourager
acknowledges the hooglie-booglies, but doesn’t focus on them
We all have the
hooglie-booglies. These are the voices that tell us we can’t, or we shouldn’t,
or we’ll fail, or we’ll look stupid. An encourager doesn’t focus on those
voices because she knows they’re trying to hook her. An encourager simply
acknowledges that the voices are there and that you can’t make them go away by
arguing with them. An encourager knows that those voices aren’t the truth. They
only SEEM like the truth.
• An
extreme encourager remembers that no one knows what’s best for anyone else
An encourager
knows that we are all wise and that sometimes we make choices that might not
seem so wise. An extreme encourager calls out our deepest desires and then
helps us see the thoughts and fears that hold us back.
• An
extreme encourager accepts miracles, grace and mystery as the deeper truth
Extreme
encouragers are often mystics of sorts. They know that the so-called “woo-woo”
stuff is more real than the so-called “logical” stuff. They celebrate the
divine as a simple fact of everyday existence and don’t get caught up in the
“prove it” mindset.
• An
extreme encourager knows that you can develop the needed character traits as
you go
In other words,
she knows you’re ready now, even if you’re not perfect yet! I shudder when I
read advice that discourages people from trying something because of character
traits “required” in advance. “You
shouldn’t blog if you’re not disciplined.” “If you don’t have focus, you can’t
be a writer.” Most of the successful people I know developed these
traits as they went. I certainly did. Encouragers understand the huge potential
for growth in each human, especially when someone begins to follow her heart.
———————-
I’m grateful to
the encouragers! And I’m grateful to be able to pass it on to others – either
my friends, or to women in my retreats or my coaching clients!
Who has given you
the encouragement you needed in your life? And do you pass it on now?
WANT TO
USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
Please do! Just be
sure to include this complete blurb with it:
Performer,
songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her
‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be
the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign
up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.
