We originally created the Encouragement Manifesto as a quiet personal reflection, but it turns out that the values at the heart of it strike a chord with plenty of other folk.
In an age where definitions are more polarising than ever - at times, seemingly, weapons with which to create damaging cultural and political divides - alignment with those who share our values seems to be the best kind of defence.
What better way to seek out those kindred spirits than to wear our hearts (values) on our sleeves?
Once your values are out there - and people can see that you are genuinely living by them, consistently, over time - folk seek you out
It turns out that in our case, people head our way to grab an Encouragement Session, sometimes two … some folk head back for regular tastes of our handful of Tangfastics for the soul. What are these ‘Sessions’, you ask? Well, they’re like mentoring or coaching but free from structures and without expectations. A positive, upbeat free-for-all that - in its heart - seeks to find out what represents ‘joy’ to the participant and asks how to weave more of that thing into their life.
People seem to thrive on the lack of expectation, in particular.
A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself
Oprah Winfrey
Encouragement has a magical way of unlocking the things already there … the dreams and ideas buried under the weight of ‘should do this’ or ‘I’ll prioritise everyone else’. Sometimes, we just need to give ourselves permission - or get someone else to - so all the pent-up potential of hopes, dreams, and ambitions can explode back into view.
One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.
John O’Donohue
Multiply the Effect
How do we scale up ‘Encouragement’? How do we encourage others to encourage? Here are some of the things we are trying … throw your own ideas our way:
Make the Encouragement Sessions accessible … which for us means ‘keep the Sessions free’. The cost model is simple - all it costs us to deliver is time, enthusiasm, intention, and energy. We have all of that in bucket loads.
Ask participants to ‘pay it forward’; encourage people to find their own opportunities to be kind and generous to others (and themselves; that bit is non-negotiable).
Learn from the engagements and share the learning freely (more of that in a moment).
Follow our own mantra … ‘Be the Pebble in the Pond’ … the ripples will take care of themselves.
What Have We Learned?
The biggest thing we have learned is … People Need Encouragement. It sounds obvious, right? But so often the very opposite happens. ‘You’ve got that wrong’, ‘no-one will want to see / read / buy that thing you’ve created’ … ‘maybe come back to that ‘hobby’ when you’re retired’ … in the meantime, “knuckle down” and do {add in name of ‘sensible’ career that meets others’ expectations}. Often, we even say these things to ourselves. We become our own blockers.
All of that ‘fitting in’ can leave a gaping hole (let’s call it joy or purpose) in your heart.
Well, here’s the thing … you ARE allowed to do the things that bring you JOY.
Sorry, did I mention …
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO THE THINGS THAT BRING YOU JOY.
You Might Have Missed
We wrote a couple of ‘Lessons Learned’ articles to make it easier to pass them on:
10 things we learned from over 150 Encouragement Sessions
9 People + 9 Encouragement Sessions = 9 Lessons
(go on, do pass them on to folk who need to see them … it can be your kindness or encouragement, your chance to be the pebble in the pond)
Pebbles in the Pond
… ripples of encouragement from folk writing on Substack
Lia Leendertz writes the beautiful and informative annual book ‘The Almanac’, a firm favourite on our shelves. She also sends out her regular ‘Living Almanac’, a celebration of the small changes that make up the passing of the seasons. Lia is a great encourager, seeking out responses from her lovely community about what changes they’ve noticed where they live.
Our cookbook shelves are home to several books by Mark Diacono, who writes with verve and brio about ingredients and tastes. His regular posts to Substack show not just his wide-ranging interests - though there’s always an extra helping of food - but also his fabulous way with words. Regularly ‘smile-out-loud’, effortlessly interesting, they are an encouragement to all of us to write more and to write beautifully.
Love love love this. I adore giving encouragement to others. And of course receiving some is always a delight.
“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own”.
This is the essence of the gift, the permission that encourages the other to be themselves, and it is what you two do so well. I love this manifesto ❤️👏❤️