You met Dr. Shannon back on Podcast #200 and now she is an official ICI/PRO Team Member! This is the first in a four part series; Be The Instructor (Inspirer) Your Students Can”™t Wait To See Again

Your alarm goes off and even the sun is still asleep.  It”™s time to get to your class and teach the best class of your life.  But you don”™t feel like it.  Now what?  It”™s time to encourage YOU!

People have always told me that I am an encourager.  I would agree.  I love to encourage others.  Well, actually I don”™t think of it as “encouraging others”.  Instead, I truly think of it as “seeing the best in others”, as well as almost every situation.  (I say, “almost” because we all have those moments when we have a really bad attitude. When all we want to do is swear and think the worst about others or ourselves….  But then, if you”™re like me, you realize that this kind of attitude gets you nowhere except into a deeper funk, which just makes everything worse.  So my best advise to all of us is “choose to think the best about ourselves and others, and choose happy.” Deal? J)  There is nothing quite as brilliant as mastering the art of encouraging others and yourself.

When you see the best in others, they will tend to see the best in you.  It”™s amazing to me how few people on this planet truly encourage and compliment others. That is, compared to the number of people who focus on the negative and are very vocal in their discouraging opinions about others, as well as themselves.  Let”™s face it; gossip is usually not the art of telling others how awesome they think someone is!  Even total strangers will generously give you their negative comments or ask discouraging questions…I wouldn”™t do that if I were you. That will never work.  Why would you want to do that in this economy? …blah, blah, blah!

All of us need encouragement.  Even on great days a little encouragement goes a long way.  The art of encouraging begins with recognizing something unique, new or special in those around you.  When you notice something worth noting in one of your students, don”™t hesitate to let them know it.  The art of building others up with genuine words of praise and recognition will draw others to you.  Think about it, the last time you felt discouraged, how valuable was a single word of encouragement to you?  Invaluable!

I believe this is why social media has become so popular and almost addictively pleasurable for many.  It”™s because the human population is desperate to be recognized, valued, and appreciated.  Everyone wants to be noticed!  That includes, you!  The more you recognize and encourage others, the more others will notice you.  It really is that simple, as long as your encouraging words are genuine and heart felt.

It goes back to something we all learned in kindergarten. I believe it”™s referred to as the Golden Rule (because it is highly valuable), “Treat others the way you would like to be treated”.  Am I right?  Or am I right?

My Pastor used to say, “Pay attention, or you will have to pay somebody”.  I like to think that if we master the art of paying attention, soon others will be paying us…a lot!  How does that sound?

But what about those days when you yourself are feeling totally discouraged.  First of all, it”™s vitally important (especially when you pour into the lives of others) to have those individuals in your life (Your “Inner Circle”) that you can always count on to lift you up and remind you of whom you truly are.  I have a dear friend, Noah St. John, who refers to them as “Loving Mirrors”.  I like to think of them as my 1 of 11”™s.  What? 1 plus 1 does not equal 2 in my book, it equals 11.  They are the people in your life who add exponential value by simply being there.  They are the 1”™s who keep us straight, who keep us up…especially on those days when we are not, and quite frankly, don”™t really want to be…period!  They are the 1”™s who care even when we don”™t!

The person at the top of your “1 of 11 List” must (and I repeat, must) be Y-O-U!  There are going to be plenty of times in your life when you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and remind yourself that, “Yes you can!  You can do it!”  You have got to encourage yourself and be willing to do so, especially if no one else is doing it for you.

The simple act of encouraging yourself will totally encourage (and inspire) YOU and those around you.  I guarantee it!

There is infinite power in the words that we think and speak. Seriously, have you ever thought about someone out of the blue and that same day you happen to run into them?  Coincidence?  Or is it evidence about how powerful our thoughts really can be?  I like to think that my thoughts have power, how about you?

When you speak (whether with words or thoughts), let it be the language of creation, not destruction…encouragement, not discouragement.  I believe that our lives are a product of the words that we speak and the questions that we ask ourselves.  How encouraging are you?  Do your words reflect positive expectation (hope) or negative reflection (despair)?

I encourage you to be the biggest encourager you know.  However, this comes with one challenge.  If you are the biggest encourager you know, people are going to want to know you.  And you must be willing to encourage yourself; because no one else can do it as well as you can do it for yourself.

When I opened my own Fitness Studio several years ago, I had one woman that used to come to class, let”™s refer to her as “Mary”.  Mary was an older woman that was pretty de-conditioned.  I remember seeing the look on her face, as we were amping up our intensity.  She had this look of “OMG, I cannot do this…I think I”™m going to die!”  Without even thinking I said, “Yes you can, Mary! You can do hard things!”  The look on her face changed and so did everything else.

This quickly became the mantra for the entire class…Yes we can!  We can do hard things!

For years I have reminded others and myself (as I am reminding you today) that YES YOU CAN!  YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS! When it comes to being the Instructor (Inspirer) that your students can”™t wait to see again, YES YOU CAN!  IT”™S REALLY NOT THAT HARD!  Pay attention…it will eventually pay you!

Be Encouraged…

Dr. Shannon

chiropractor | coach | speaker | author

http://www.drshannonknows.com

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NOTE: We've re-run this post for the benefit of all of our new ICI/PRO members.

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