ENCOURAGEMENT Dr. Patanjali J. Yogendra

Section of Stories that Stir

ENCOURAGEMENT

Dr. Patanjali J. Yogendra

A psychology professor was invited to the home of a student. While

chatting with the family members after dinner, the student’s little

sister, bubbling with excitement, ran up to the professor and showed him

the school assignment she had just completed. He took a quick look at

the sheet and noticed that not a word was spelt correctly.

However, he turned to the child and said in an encouraging tone, “This

is beautiful. The margins are nice and neat, your handwriting is so

clean and readable. “Thank you uncle” broke out the girl beaming, “I

have been working real hard on it. Next time I am going to work on my

spelling.

Criticizing someone is easy. However a little encouragement goes a long

way. Surprisingly it is equally easy to encourage someone. No, you don’t

have to lie. It just involves a change in perception, a different way of

looking at things, trying to see the other person’s point of view –

trying to see good.

Article from the Yoga & Total Health Magazine of August 2010