6 Ways to Encourage Someone to Keep Growing

If you wish to encourage someone's growth, you ought to pay attention and know them so that you may support them in specific ways

encourage concept
Photo by Prateek Katyal

From personal development to self-improvement, the way that you grow internally can be called a lot of things — and we call it amazing no matter what! Growth can be physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and can feel amazing… But what if you’ve been growing and noticing a gap between you and the people around you now? Or what if the person who’s been growing alongside you has lost their stride?

If you have a seed that you aspire to grow big and beautiful, do you split the seed open, mash it into the soil, flood it with water and let it sizzle in the most sun possible? Of course not! We all know that a seed does need air, water, sun and soil to come out of its shell and sprout upward, but giving it excessive amounts of these things won’t accelerate its growth. Instead, this nurturing should be combined with the time and space that’s actually needed to grow.

What we’re saying is that you can’t force someone to keep growing. It will happen at their own rate…but you can encourage their growth by giving them the things that will help them thrive no matter what stage they are at. If you pay attention and know your person, you may even be able to provide them with specific nutrients at certain stages. But how? Continue reading…

6 ways to encourage someone to keep growing

Give them space to breathe and be themselves

Every person is different, and because of that, they will pursue different life paths. No one path is better than another, so never try to push someone down the “best” path because it may not be the best for them. If you really do have their best interests in mind and understand who they are as a person well enough, and their decisions still aren’t sitting well with you, it’s important that — beyond voicing your initial concerns and having a conversation about it — you still allow them this space to be themselves. They will adjust who they want to be on their own accord, and when they do…

Support them when they need the stability

Whether your friend, family member, coworker or any other loved one is experiencing an exciting growth spurt or feeling the growing pains, the space to be themselves that leads to this will often be followed by the need for a little extra support. Provide a listening ear as they start wanting to express what they’ve learned about themselves, share in the excitement when they achieve goals, offer guidance when they are going through uncharted territory, offer advice when life is unfair to them and embrace their setbacks as much as their successes.

The final step is important, as setbacks can quickly discourage a person from pursuing a task or path any further! Instead, always support the person in your life who’s trying to grow by making these moments into learning and growth opportunities all on their own. After all, any good growth comes with a little discomfort! By supporting them in this way, the person in your life will likely be inspired or amped up to continue doing good for themselves, thanks to how excited it seems to make you — whether they realize their growth or not!

Give them the tools to grow

Giving them the tools to grow will mean honing in on their aspirations, objectives, skills, interests or general health and wellness. So while this will differ wildly from person to person, it could mean granting them access to online resources for learning, giving their body and brain a boost to keep them capable of anything or gifting them tools and supplies that will help them excel.

Don’t be afraid to go simple when it comes to giving them the tools to grow because sometimes it’s something as simple as a wholesome piece of desk decor or a motivational kitchen accessory that will make the most significant impact. This is because simple selections like this will let the person in your life know that you support them enough to improve their environment, help them access their skills, excel in a stylish way and showcase it to the world. If you’re showing support to the chef in your life who would love the cool kitchen accessory mentioned above but they get squirmy over sappy moments, consider similar gifts with a sense of humor, like sarcastically funny dish towels. They will still feel the soft symbolism and support even while they enjoy the smiles!

Motivational kitchen accessories
Source: Karina Bakalyan/Shutterstock.com

Give specific encouragement, no matter how simple or small

While it’s not uncommon to feel uncomfortable when giving compliments, the concept is silly and should be shaken off! After all, imagine how much more wonderful the world would be if all of those silent feelings of admiration were shared. So if you’re thinking of something positive or interesting, you should probably share it! And even though a “nicely done” at dinner will admittedly always be appreciated, it can be amplified even more with some unrestrained authenticity, interest or additional observations like: “I’ve been smelling that cooking all day and it was delicious! What did you use to give it that super yummy spicy kick?”

Always be setting an example

Whether it be for the sake of practising what you preach or the sake of inspiring others simply through the way that you live your life — opening new opportunities to preach — it’s important to embrace as much growth within yourself as possible when you’re trying to provoke it in others.

Help them adopt a healthier lifestyle

Eating well and exercising regularly is a proven way to do wonders for your productivity and overall performance. Along with this, outdoor activities and nature itself can have a huge impact on your mindset and ability to grow. So consider encouraging this in them by going out for good foods, getting out and indulging in healthy activities or even getting them something like a cute terracotta grow kit for their kitchen as a symbolic and literal way to get them growing (not to mention improve their space)!

Along with adopting healthier eating habits and activities, adopting a healthier attitude through embracing personal strengths and focusing on gratitude can help a person not only feel more meaning and fulfillment in life, but find out easier where it comes from for them. As a result, they may potentially get a better idea of paths that they would actually enjoy pursuing (and likely excel at!).

Couple practising yoga together
Source: winnievinzence/Shutterstock.com

In the end, it’s all important that you know your audience

We mentioned before that you can’t force someone to keep growing — which is why most of these ideas are less about making them grow and more about inspiring and encouraging them to WANT to grow. Nonetheless, it’s important to notice when even your attempts to encourage them are unsuccessful. If so, you might shift your initiative to better understanding your person—their positive traits, their shortcomings, their skills and their talents—to better understand how to approach them.

Magnifying lens over an exclamation markSpot an error in this article? A typo maybe? Or an incorrect source? Let us know!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here