Encourage people - you never know what may ensue

One of the reasons I quit watching American Idol is because I really don’t like to watch people being talked down to, made fun of, and humiliated on national television. (Now I know some people are trying to be characters and are vying for that negative attention, this is not what I am talking about.) This is one of the reasons I have thoroughly enjoyed watching The Voice. Even the people who aren’t that great were sent away with compliments and encouragements to continue pursuing their dream and keep improving. This, people, is how we need to treat one another. Can we just insert the “Golden Rule” a bit more often? I have a friend who offered to come take my children while I was sick as a dog this week. I told her thank you and that she was a very sweet friend - to which she replied, “thanks, I don’t hear that very often”! WHAT?! Why is that? Why do we not compliment one another and say thank you? I have another acquaintance who is pursuing her music career - I sent her an email telling her how much her music meant to us and how much we appreciated all the labor she put into making it. She was thankful and recently encouraged others to do the same for their favorite artists stating that it goes a long way. I look at my children and am convicted that I don’t do this enough. I had one parent who was over the top on the compliments, to a fault, false praise and afraid to criticize for sake of crushing self-esteem. I don’t want to be that - I think we need to be told where we can improve and encouraged GENTLY that there are some things we may need to leave to others. I hope I can do well with this with my boys. I hope I can encourage them to pursue their loves with every fiber of their beings. I know some folks are motivated by being told “you can’t do that” (I think I would fall in that category - tell me that, and I will bleed trying to prove you wrong), but I think that encouraging people to push through the hard times goes much further, helping them dig down inside and pull out the greatness that is deep within. Maybe this isn’t done because to pursue great things many times means being outside of the stereotypical box that society likes to keep people in. It makes us uncomfortable to go against the grain and take risks - but that is where amazing things happen. I don’t want to stifle my boys, or anyone else for that matter. Please, let’s give praise where praise is due. Encourage. And just be nice dammit - I get tired of all the meanness, there just isn’t enough time in the day for it. You never know where that compliment will lead and what fire it may spark...