Wise Investment

Encouragement is a kind of investment in your family, whether you're encouraging your own child or your grandchildren. The Art of Encouragement on the Hearts at Home website talks about how you can encourage family members, and why it's so important.

The Art of Encouragement

Randy Pausch's book The Last Lecture is about how he is handling his own impending death from pancreatic cancer.
One of the things he talks about is how blessed he has been in his family. His relationship with his dad has helped make him the man he's grown to be.
Randy Pausch's dad helped him dream, helped him believe he could achieve his dreams. He didn't withhold honest evaluations of Randy's efforts, but he was able to season those evaluations with enough encouragement to keep his son believing his dreams were within reach.
What a gift that is! And parents aren't the only ones who can offer a gift like that – grandparents can, friends can, teachers can.
Randy Pausch makes the point that when we've received encouragement, it's good for us to pass it on to others. It's one of many good things Randy shares in this book. I encourage you to read it, and be encouraged yourself.