Weekly Wisdom

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” - William Arthur Ward

I really like the honesty of William Ward’s words, but for this post I will focus on the latter words of encouragement. I would say that encouragement is needed most when lack of motivation is what you have most. This explains why it has been a while since the last Weekly Wisdom post—I simply have been at a loss for motivation as well as a lack of encouragement. However, this past week I attended the IWCA conference in San Diego, CA and got the little bit of encouragement I needed to write this post. It wasn’t anything that I heard in the sessions, it was what I saw. There were so many people from writing centers across the country and we were all there because we have a passion for writing. Everyone has their own stake in writing, and mine is all about the joy of sharing knowledge—appropriate since I am an education major—and helping others find their stake. This is why I found this quote so appropriate; encouragement is not always verbal which means that encouragement is not passive. You cannot simply wait for someone to offer of prophetic words, but you have to seek for what gives you the motivation. So, I charge you this week to find something in your life that encourages you: encourages you to get up in the morning; encourages you to do your homework; encourages you to speak to less familiar people; it can be almost anything. You just have to be actively seeking for the encouragement to aid your motivation. 

-Margaret Gruhler