One Act of Encouragement

Zig Ziglar wrote, “You never know when one kind act, or one word of encouragement, can change a life forever.”

Have you ever had anyone give you that one kind act or one of encouragement that gave you the will and the strength to push on?

I have.

I remember one in particular. It took place shortly after my divorce. I was in a dark mood and was walking through the shopping mall.

An elderly gentleman came up to me and gently tapped me on the shoulder. As I turned to him, he smiled and said, “You have a lovely face and it would look even more beautiful if you would smile.”

I was taken aback a bit. I had not realized that I was obviously broadcasting my unhappiness to everyone around me.

I smiled and thanked the man. He smiled back and left.

I was deeply touched by that act of kindness. It snapped me out of my darkness and lightened my mood. Who knows where I would be had that man not called my attention to what I was sending out into the world!

I do my best now to catch those dark moods and release them rather than broadcast them.

And I do my best to perform acts of kindness and encouragement to others.

One I remember was at the checkout line of a store. Several of the people who had been ahead of me in line had been rude to the cashier.

She hadn’t done anything wrong, but they were still had been gruff with her.

When she began working on my items, I smiled and said hello. Then I noticed that the vest she was wearing had 4 gold stars on it, so I decided to ask how she had earned those.

Her face brightened significantly as she told me that those were awards for checking out large numbers of customers and high sales volume. She said it was hard to earn those but she had managed it.

I told her how amazing that was and congratulated her on her achievement. She thanked me and seemed more enlivened!

It warmed my heart.

You see, acts of kindness aren’t just for the other person/people, they help you too!

So, as the sign I included above said, “Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.” Go the extra mile to encourage someone, to be kind to them. It will be worth is.

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Would you like to release burdens you are carrying?

My “Releasing Burdens” meditation from my book “Launchpad 2020: The Art and [Rocket] Science Of  Breakthroughs And Possibilities” can help.

You can listen to it on YouTube here https://youtu.be/X_JLIlxpAHM