Encouragement

I still remember what started me off on the journey of learning to speak and write in English. The year was 1987 and I was in Primary 3. My English was mediocre because I hardly speak it at home and school. Both my parents don't know English so it is their aspiration for their children to master the language. Thus I was sent for English tuition classes.

It was at the tuition center that I met Mrs. Dass. Mrs. Dass was a strict, no nonsense teacher. One fine day for English composition, she gave me a 'B'. I was elated. It was the best 'B' I've ever gotten because that afternoon, I got myself an exercise book and started writing by myself. It was not even homework. All of a sudden, English became interesting. Before long, I fell in love with the language. That's the power of a small dose of encouragement.

Recently, I saw this happening again, this time on my 4 year old son, Jordan. We notice that he prefers reading to writing. As a result, his teacher has commented that he needs to work harder on writing. Then, one fine day, something amazing happened. My mum told me that after Jordan's afternoon nap, he took his drawing pad and his chair to the living room table and sat there and started writing the letter 'g' all by himself. He wrote hundreds of 'g' for more than 1 hour non-stop. I asked Jordan what got him so excited. This was his reply (in mandarin) "Teacher says I'm very good." Now, he can write the alphabets already. Heh! Heh! I'm so proud.

We all need encouragement to move on. Like petrol is the fuel for the automobile, encouragement is the fuel for the human spirit. John C. Maxwell shared the following about encouragement.

• People want to do the right thing. STAND WITH THEM.
• People want to find better ways of doing things. EMPOWER THEM.
• People want to achieve things they can be proud of. MOTIVATE THEM.
• People want to belong to a group that achieves the extraordinary. INVITE THEM.
• People want to earn recognition for who they are and what they achive. HONOUR THEM.

Encourage someone today. When we give, we receive even more.

God Bless!

Luke Bong