A Tale of Two Frogs

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.”

Once, a group of frogs was traveling through the woods, two of them fell into a deep pit. The other frogs anxiously gathered around the pit and upon seeing just how deep it was, they told the two frogs that there was no way they could ever make it to the top, there was absolutely no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs wanted to save their lives so they decided to ignore what the others were saying and they proceeded to try and jump, to get out of the pit.

They kept trying and despite their efforts, the group of frogs at the top of the pit kept discouraging and demotivating them from trying so hard to get out when everyone could see just how deep the pit was.

After several failed attempts, one of the frogs took heed to what the others were saying and he gave up trying, falling down to his death. The other frog, however, continued to jump as hard as he could. Again, the group of frogs yelled at him to stop trying and just accept his fate.

To everyone’s surprise he started jumping even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs screamed, “Did you not hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he is a little hard of hearing and therefore he could not really hear their exact words from down bottom of the pit, he thought they were cheering for him and encouraging him the entire time. And only because of this he got the motivation and courage to save his life.

Encouragement goes straight to the heart. In fact, the word itself comes from a combination of the prefix ‘en’ which means “to put into” and the Latin root ‘cor’ which means “heart”. Knowing what a big difference encouragement makes in our own life, we can do a lot to help and uplift others when the going gets tough and the way feels long.

If an encouraging thought comes to mind, share it! Don’t let shyness hold you back. It may not have the same effect if you wait. When you introduce someone, add a few words of praise for their abilities and accomplishments. You could also share how they’ve helped you or what is the nature of your relationship. It’s encourages people to be praised in front of others.

Motivate people to be their best, to give their best. Sometimes people just lose faith in their own abilities and talents. A little magical nudge of kindness and motivation can go a long way. It helps re-establishing people’s faith in themselves. And sometimes all that a person needs is for someone to show a little faith in them even when they themselves have lost it.

And finally never underestimate the power of being there for people because sometimes just being there can be encouraging! Just letting people know that you are there by their side during their difficult times, makes it easier and bearable for them go through the difficult unrelenting situations.

And therefore, in the end I would like to throw in these remarkable words of encouragement by Erin Hanson –

“And you ask ‘What if I fall?’ Oh but my darling, what if you fly?”