Achievement and Encouragement
How do you Measure Achievement & Encouragement?
At the beginning of June I set out to write 30 stories in 30 days, or an average of one per day. I thought I was getting close, but I must have miscounted. I’ve only written 24. Elsewhere I wrote that I’d written 26 and only had 4 to go. Now I find, upon counting more carefully, that I need to write another 6 in two days. I’m not sure I can do that. But I’m not giving up; not yet!
What I noticed in counting though, is that including responses, I wrote 187 pieces in June. 163 Responses to things you and others have written. That may well be the more important piece of the pie. Maybe it provides a better measure of achievement than how many stories I’ve published.
Encouragement
Though I’m a writer and love to write, I feel my real job here is to read what you write and comment on it in a way that is hopefully encouraging. Some years back, a Christian counselor called “G.T.” (his name is Getahun) gave my wife and I a piece of advice in the form of a Bible verse: “Encourage each other daily as long as it is called today” (Hebrews 3:13, NIV).
Ever since then I’ve reflected on that verse and its deep meaning for my life. I now see my calling as that of an encourager to those whom I encounter online and off.
Encouragers
Mr. Getahun had an interesting story. He fled Ethiopia with just the clothes on his back and one suitcase. Though he held a prominent position in Ethiopia and was well educated, he had to start over here. Through hard work and with the help of others, he eventually got his license and became a counselor. You will never meet a more humble and thankful person.
G.T. not only gave me great advice, but he modeled it in his speech and life. He was a great encourager.
Another great encourager in my life was our family doctor for many years, Dr. Stanley Johnson. He’s actually the person who referred us to G.T.
Dr. Johnson would take time to talk with us about faith matters as well as the medical issues we were having. He took his time; he believed in treating the whole person, not just the physical body.
Over the years, many people have come along side me and provided encouragement. My parents started the ball rolling, so to speak, and encouraged me to do well in school and get a good education.
My friend Jim Booth (may he rest in peace), whom I’ve known since high school, encouraged me to think differently about issues and look behind the surface for the truth. Jim became quite proficient in ferreting out information and dredging up forgotten or hidden facts that most people did not find or pay attention to.
My friend Pete encourages me to be the best Christian I can be. Through weekly Bible studies and monthly one-on-ones, he shares with me his perspective on the Bible and various other things.
My friend Pastor Brian from my church provides constant encouragement to keep going deeper in my faith. He also encourages me in my Medium writing career. Through Pastor Brian’s introducing me to Contemplative Photography, I’ve rekindled a love of photography. He’s also encouraged me to join a Listening Circle and to pursue my interest in Centering Prayer.
Different “coaches” for different purposes and seasons
To do our best, we all need people to encourage us, but to really shine, we need people who will give us an honest and thoughtful appraisal. We need a coach or mentor. In fact, we may need several, one for each area of our life. We may need a professional coach to help us along our career path, a writing coach to show us how to improve our writing, a spiritual director to help us grow in our faith, etc. We can’t expect one person to fill all these roles or have the experience needed in each area. Just as we may need to see a specialist for certain physical and mental ailments, we need specialists to help us improve the way we live, how we think, and what we do.
Measurement
Being a retired scientist and engineer, as well as a retired business owner, I know the importance of measurement. I know how to measure achievement. Articles published per month could be one such measurement, dollars earned could be another.
But how do you measure encouragement. Is the number of encouraging responses enough? Sure, those 163 responses tell of my effort. But how do I measure their effectiveness? The writer’s favorable response to my response might be one way.
But then I think I’m carrying this too far. In human relations I need to make the effort and leave the result up to God. Though I must say that when I write something in response to a story and the author writes a reply, I feel validated. Even if we disagree, I love the dialogue. As one writer said, such give and take is the catnip of Medium.
Conclusion
Perhaps we should leave it at that and not try to measure encouragement. Our hearts will know when we’ve achieved some synergy. We don’t need numbers to tell us we’ve hit a bullseye with a remark or comment.
Does it matter how many bullseyes I hit? Not really. If I can lift one person up, that may be enough to meet my God-given quota.
Happy Reading, Writing and Connecting
If you enjoyed this piece, you may like the following poems and articles as well. Follow me on Twitter. All of my work can be found here.