It allows us to empathize.

When you encourage someone, it lets that person know that you can understand the situation they are in or the emotions that they are going through. You can say to that person, “I have been where you are, and I struggled, but I got through it and you will too.” You can elaborate on your personal struggle and how it relates to them, as well as letting them know that you will help them and encourage them until they are successful. This is also comforting to others because often times, one of the most discouraging things is thinking that you are the only person experiencing a situation or an emotion. Being able to communicate with someone that can relate to our struggles is reassuring by itself.

It pushes others towards their goals.

The best part about encouraging others is that it pushes people towards their dreams and goals. Encouragement is all encompassing, so whether you are cheering someone on at a marathon, complimenting someone on their personality or simply telling them that they will get through a class, this counts as pushing that person towards the goals that they have for themselves. Better yet, you may encourage someone towards a dream or goal that they didn’t even know they wanted or were capable of achieving!

It makes you feel good.

It feels good to know that maybe despite our own doubts and personal struggles that we are able to speak words of encouragement to someone else who is also struggling. It’s rewarding to see someone be hopeful for their future, feel better after being upset or even smiling after they were crying. I can’t help but think it’s like a transfer of positive energy that we give to someone, and as they use that positivity, it slowly returns back to you and others as that person uses the power of encouraging words. As they start to feel better about themselves and their situation, they start to encourage others too, and the cycle can’t help but repeat itself.

You find...maybe you’re encouraging yourself too!

Time and time again I notice myself giving others advice I don’t follow, or telling someone something positive that I’m not even sure I believe. I think that most people could say this as well. However, we say encouraging things to people because we know in our hearts that those words of encouragement hold power and great meaning to someone who needs encouragement. As we encourage others and hear ourselves audibly saying those powerful words, I find that it’s hard not to believe those words yourself. I think to myself, “Wow, everything I just told that person is true. Why don’t I believe those things as well?” Maybe you have found yourself in this position before. As you encourage others in your daily life, stop to think about the times that maybe you haven’t believed in the words you were saying for yourself. You may not have believed that you would get through a difficult situation, or that you were good or strong enough to do so. The next time you encourage or build someone up, act as if you are saying those powerful words to yourself, and maybe you will start to believe what you are saying too.

You never know how much your encouragement is needed.

The greatest power in encouraging someone is that we may never truly know how greatly our words can impact someone else. For all we know, the person that we encourage may just be on the verge of giving up, losing hope or breaking down altogether. Maybe our words of encouragement completely change the outlook of someone’s day, the path they are going to take or simply make them smile for the first time in a while. Like the saying, “You never know what someone is going through,” can be applied here: you never know when someone needs your encouragement!