Somewhat Ridiculous Unsolicited Advice.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I thought it'd be fun to try out Joy the Baker's list of blog post ideas. I thought I'd just go ahead and get the advice post out of the way. When hearing about this blog post idea, my aunt Georgie told me a story of a recent trip to a restaurant where the waiter dropped her food off at the table, asked her if she'd had the dish before, and then went ahead and told her all about how the meal she had ordered wasn't very good. That, my friends, is some pretty serious ridiculous unsolicited advice. Hopefully the advice that I will offer you isn't quite so ridiculous. So... here it goes.

My advice: encourage people. Compliment people. Keep your eyes open for the strengths of the people around you... And when you have the opportunity to tell them about what you've noticed, do. And if you don't have the opportunity... make one. Tell people how special they are. And don't just say, "Hey, you're special." Say, "Hey, you're special because of the way you really listen to people when they talk to you." or, "Hey, you're special because of the way you can make people laugh like no one else can." Be specific. It's more special that way.

There are so many ways to encourage people. You can take an afternoon and go to a coffee shop and just write people letters telling them how great they are. I did that this last week, and it made my day and the days of the people I sent it to. Or you can be crazy like me, and in the middle of a heated board game say, "Ok, although things are getting tense, I can still name 3 great things about each person in this room." So I did! I got a chance to tell some people how specifically great they were (and win a game of Settlers of Catan) and it was great. Find these ways to spread encouragement. Please.

All this to say... start trying to open your eyes a little wider. Believe the best in people. Notice the good in them. And tell them about it. It'll make their day... and yours too. Promise.

My letter after crossing a few states and reaching my dear friend Valeria, in Houston.

(P.S. Sorry this is so long. Thanks for hanging in there... I'm a bit passionate about this, if you can't tell.)