In today’s world, it is easy to get discouraged. We know that there are negative influences at every turn. There of course is the nightly news. Turn that off. There is all the political division. Do not fall for that. There are different faiths convincing you they are right and everyone else is wrong. Love everyone anyway. News even comes to our phones. Turn off the notification.
Even if we take all of the measures to insulate ourselves from the pressures of life that may bring us down, it can still get through. We can witness it at the coffee shop. Coworkers can come up and inform us of it. Sometimes we can just feel discouraged and lacking hope. It is at this very moment we should do what the photo above suggests. It works 100% of the time. There is nothing that feels as good as knowing you helped make the world a little brighter for someone else. The opportunities are everywhere. People post their tough days on social media. There are charities to help at. This could be a food bank, a domestic violence shelter or a million other options. Even something as encouraging a server in a restaurant, like my lovely lady did today, or a retail setting can make their world a lot brighter.
Wisdom from one of my favorite philosophers. Winnie-the-Pooh touches on something very helpful here. When we are feeling discouraged, it can be tempting to just sit at home and wallow in our misery. Seeking out others in “our corner of the woods” that could use some encouragement is just what the doctor ordered. It not only gets us out of the house, which will help our emotional state in and of itself. “Motion equals emotion.” as Tony Robbins says. Yes, I just quoted both Winnie-the-Pooh and Tony Robbins to make the same point. That is just how my brain rolls. It will also give us a mission and an important reason for being. Two more ways to positively impact our emotional state before we encourage a single soul. When we do find those in “the woods” that need us, we will be helping them as much as they will be helping us.
Creating as many of these win/win situations as we can will rid our life of that terrible feeling of discouragement. Here is something that should be obvious, but since we are focused on feeling discouraged, I thought I should mention it. This works even if we are having a good day. When we encourage others, it will give our own emotional state a lift. This is true whether we are feeling down in the dumps, or even if we are walking on cloud nine. Encourage someone today! It will make someone’s day and may save yours!
