Category: motivation

Categories
motivation

Encourage Each Other

Encourage Each Other

How many of us love to go somewhere where we know we will be torn down? Who loves an atmosphere that drips with discouragement and criticism? None of us, I bet. It is far better to be at a place where we encourage each other!

If you’ve read many of my posts, you know I value encouragement and like to give it. To me, it is the key to motivation. None of us like to be criticized. Yet, we all need to learn how to improve. It can be a fine line between being taught how to improve and being torn down. As a result, we must be careful to do more building up than tearing down.

I like to keep this verse in mind:

“Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) via Biblegateway.com

In the Apostle Paul’s epistles, there were plenty of instances where he had to rebuke and steer a person or church in the right direction. Yet, he also seasoned them with thanksgiving and encouragement. He knew there was always something positive to highlight. We all need to know there is something we are doing right. Otherwise, what’s the point?

So when someone frustrates us, let’s try encouragement. Find at least one thing the person is doing right. Consider how you would feel if all you heard was negative. How can you find something good to highlight along with the factor that needs improvement. A little motivation along with instruction could go a long way!

Categories
motivation

Kindness Saves Us

Kindness Saves Us

Most of us think it would be great if there was a little more consideration in the world. We would like to be treated better, whether at a store on the road. But do we ever consider that our kindness saves us?

We were traveling on the day after Christmas. I thought things were a little crazy before the holidays. However, December 26 had nothing on the pre-Christmas madhouse.

On the interstate, muscle cars, pickups, and the occasional motorcycle acted like they were in a Fast and Furious movie. When I was driving, I felt my blood pressure rise and my brow furrow.

At one point, we came upon an accident. Traffic was backed up about six miles. All the previous speeders had to slow down like the rest of us. They had no choice. Since I was the passenger at this point, I got a photo of the aftermath.

Auto accident on a freeway shoulder as the sun sets. © 2021 Kevin Spear

As we waited, I wondered if it was speed and an ill-timed lane change that caused the accident. I reminded myself of the following proverb.

Your kindness will reward you,
but your cruelty will destroy you.

Proverbs 11:17 (NLT)

Frequently, it is selfishness and cruelty that harm us. We believe we have the right to do an aggressive, selfish act only to discover it didn’t help the situation and only made things worse.

Hopefully, the parties involved were okay. And if an aggressive drive was involved, hopefully, someone learned a lesson before they destroy themselves or others. Let’s be kind to one another out there before we destroy each other.

Categories
motivation

In the Bleak Midwinter

In the bleak midwinter

It’s a cold, frosty morning as I write this. In the northern hemisphere, Winter officially arrives at 10:59 AM EST. It will be the shortest day of the year and I am looking forward to the sun making a valiant effort to beat back the darkness and cold for another six months.

As a child, I was intrigued by how winter came just four days before Christmas. It was as if the world acknowledged how dark and dismal things have gotten, but then reminded us that Christmas is coming. I’ve written a few thoughts on this time of year before. It’s a time that reminds me to persevere through the dark and cold times.

Winter Solstice Sunrise in Southwest Ohio
Winter Solstice Sunrise in Southwest Ohio, 2019

One Christmas carol we don’t hear much is, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” It’s a soft, contemplative song. I like how it makes me pause and think.

In the Bleak Midwinter: Susan Boyle

Winter causes us to pause and contemplate. In the colder regions, there isn’t much to do except stare outside and pine for warmer days. Winter reminds us that the world is a cold place. Christmas gives us hope that a little ember will grow into a fire.

This year feels like an even more bleak time. We thought we beat the coronavirus only to have the Omicron variant blaze onto the scene. The news is bleak and dark. However, Christmas is in four days. Summer is just 181 days away. Things will get better. Just hold on; brighter days are coming!

Categories
love motivation

Love and Forgiveness

Yesterday, I wrote about the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This week, it’s about love. Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. Though most of us like the idea of unconditional love, not too many of us are keen on the concept of forgiveness. But the two ideas make the world a much better place.

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.”
Reinhold Niebuhr

Reinhold Niebuhr Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2021. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/reinhold_niebuhr_121403, accessed December 20, 2021.

We prefer revenge to grace. Most movies follow that plot. Who would watch a movie about forgiveness anyway? They are out there but rarely do they become box office hits. But in the real world, letting someone off the hook is much more practical than revenge.

Business and Politics

You wouldn’t know it by the way business and politics are played these days. We are encouraged to own our enemies instead of doing good toward them. What do you mean show mercy? We are supposed to finish them off! Obliterate them! Off with their heads! Who cares about peace on earth, good will towards men? We have need to give them a taste of their own medicine!

But is that really wise? When will it all end? Is it when the strongest party destroys the other? How has that worked so far? When carried to the extreme, it brings genocide, famine and misery.

There is a better way.

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The problem with the killer instinct is it has the potential to kill. None of us like a threatening environment. But if we aren’t the ones seeking peace, mercy and good will, who will? Let there be peace on earth, and may we be the ones to bring it. It takes a lot of love and forgiveness.

Categories
motivation

Getting Better or Worse

Getting Better or Worse

“Any time you stop you stop striving to get better, you’re bound to get worse.”

Pat Riley quoted in:
Jerome, Jerry. Instant Inspiration: Using Quotes to Guide You to Your Goals. 1st ed.
Instant Wisdom Publishing, 2003. 

There is no middle ground when it comes to growth. Either we are getting better or worse each day. Either we are contributing to the solution or part of the problem.

The temptation in life is just cruise through. We tend to gravitate towards comfort and inactivity. As we get older, we tend to think growth is behind us. But nothing can be further from the truth!

Our growth is not limited by our age. Physically, we may have stopped growing years ago. (Or at least, we stopped growing vertically and began growing horizontally!) But there is always something to learn. There is always a new challenge to confront and solve. Life is much more than just cruising into obscurity.

A Choice to Grow or Fade Away

When I began my graphic design career, many of the older designers were resistant to computers. They had been creating layouts with materials such as rubylith and huge, bellows cameras. They knew how to create layouts quickly and efficiently. The new way of doing things felt uncomfortable. Many of them stubbornly held onto the old ways until they were forced to change, or they left their jobs and careers.

At the time, I thought surely the designers of my generation would have learned a lesson. Some have. Others are just as resistant to change. A graphic design career changed from a primarily paper and printing process to online graphics. Some have stubbornly held on. Others have faded into obscurity as new ways of doing things took hold.

Each day, we have a choice between getting better or worse. There is always a new way of doing things. Don’t get so comfortable that you resist growing and changing. Always be looking for new techniques and new technologies. Otherwise, we risk becoming irrelevant.