You are, of course, intimately familiar with the word semantics, one of the core building blocks for language. Simply put, the words we speak carry meaning to the listener. The semantics of the word encourage is to give support, confidence or hope. When we speak words that encourage they don’t just contain meaning but also incredible power.
My first real job as a teenager was teaching preschoolers to swim. I would bend low beside shivering little bodies, trying to convince them to put their head underwater, float on their backs or let go of my hands and kick.
The big day of swim lessons came when I’d line all the kids up on the side of the pool. One by one they would jump into my waiting arms. There were usually one or two fearless souls who would jump with no coaxing. But mostly they all needed some encouragement.
“Come one! You can do it!”
“I’m right here. You’ve got this!”
“I know it’s scary but you can do it!”
Encouragement. I don’t believe we ever outgrow the need for this vital life-giving language. You are a seasoned veteran in the art of encouraging your clients. It is part of your job to verbally support them as they work on a goal. You give them the confidence to try hard things through the words you share in therapy. You instill courage and spark hope in others.
And you are really good at it.
But in the continual giving and pouring out to others, it is far too easy to run low in our own encouragement tanks. Have you ever found yourself in a place lacking support? Have you ever had your confidence so shaken that you question your calling and hope feels like it is draining away?
If you haven’t, just give it some time. Discouragement is part of the human experience. Feel it, question it, but please don’t linger.
Here are three simple techniques to try when the landscape turns gray:
When encouragement runs low, search out language that lifts. I’m sure you’ve experienced times when you looked for an encouraging word online or with another person and received instead words that reek with negativity and bitterness. Guard yourself against being pulled down by those who are equally as depleted. Intentionally cultivate a taste for people, podcasts, and books that speak life. Monitor carefully the language of your own internal dialogue. And remember to fill up your tank on a regular basis, not waiting until you run out of gas.
When encouragement is needed, be open to receive it from any source. Life-giving words come from unexpected places sometimes, making it easy to overlook. Last week I read through R.J. Palacio’s picture book We’re All Wonders with a few of my students. At one point Auggie is looking down on earth, considering it big enough for all. “Billions of people. People of all different colors. People who walk and talk differently. People who look different. Like me!” For some reason, these words brought a comforting boost of encouragement every time I’d read them. Life is full of surprises and if you pay attention, encouragement will deliver want you need at just the right time. (I highly recommend this book, as well as its YA predecessor Wonder.)
Whenever you get the chance, be the encourager for others that you need for yourself. It’s interesting how the very act of speaking hope and confidence over someone else backhandedly encourages our own souls. As a community of professionals, we instinctively understand what an art and ministry encouragement is. I believe we could set the standard for doing this often and well for one another in our workplaces.
It’s important to seek it, important to receive it, and important to give it away.
You can do this. What you say matters. It really does.
Where have you found a seed of unexpected encouragement this week?
Please feel free to share your thoughts because I love hearing from you! And if Field Notes From an SLP has encouraged you, use it as a source of encouragement for a friend by sharing this space with them.
and get A Blessing for the Speech Pathologist,
a free printable to
help you remember your WHY
Thank you for these words to help spur us on both at work and at home!