WEEKLY COLUMN BY DAVID BENTLEY

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BUMPER STICKER WISDOM

Do you ever read bumper stickers on vehicles? I do. The slogans often amuse me, and give me clues about both the vehicle owner and the community. It can be fun to imagine what the owner is like from the bumper stickers and the style/condition of the vehicle. Last week, however, I saw a bumper sticker that really got my attention.

This one said, "Kids need encouragement EVERY day." Having taught elementary school for 13 years before becoming a life coach, I know that statement to be a true one. I've seen the improvement kids make when given encouragement in the classroom. I've also seen athletic events won not on the basis of superior skills, but because the team was inspired by the encouragement of coaches and/or spectators. However what struck me, as I read this bumper sticker, was that there should be another phrase added on: "and so do adults."

How many adults, whether parent, teacher, or coach/mentor, get the encouragement they need to be able to pass some along to the kids in their lives? If the adult's well of encouragement is dry, it is difficult for them to encourage anyone else. Yet how often do we adults encourage one another?

A smile and a kind word to a store clerk or coworker, a quick phone call to a friend or neighbor, a brief note to someone whose courage or actions we admire -- it doesn't take a lot to get the energy of encouragement moving. If each of us made a point of encouraging one or two other people in the course of each day, imagine the results.

As we move into a new year and begin to set goals and make resolutions for ourselves, let's not forget the need for encouragement. Kids DO need encouragement EVERY day, AND SO DO ADULTS.

• How does it feel to be encouraged by another person?
  
  
• Are you willing to encourage someone else today?
  
  
• Who will it be? Can you think of more than one?
  
  
• What will you do to keep the energy of encouragement flowing?
  
  

© 2002 David Bentley

David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world.

He can be reached by phone at 360.378.8436

by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com

or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com

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