Want to help someone SSiW by offering a word of encouragement? This is your thread.
Every response to a question on the Forum or acknowledgement of a problem along with suggestions and advice is a huge boost to anyone—in fact anyone reading the exchange, but I thought this could be the ‘assembly point’ for cheerleaders to shout encouragement, get a positive mood flowing when energies flag, and urge each other forward.
I don’t know what the Welsh word for ‘supporter’ is, so help me someone, but in the meantime,… mentally put on that Welsh Rugby shirt, daffodil hat or dragon outfit, wave your leek or your flag, and if you need to ‘hear the beat’ try Tatjana’s ‘Dysgu Cymreag, siarad Cymraeg’, here goes…
For anyone who feels nervous about standing out in the crowd by trying out some ‘Welsh in the wild’, read on. I was astonished by the ‘power of one’ yesterday when I bumped into a man I’d met years ago and he briefly shared the highlights of his life since. In 2-3 minutes he described how a few well-placed and even some random words of encouragement had helped lift him through some low points and over seemingly insurmountable obstacles, not only achieving his goal, but by sharing his story inspiring many others.
He asked me how I’d become an engineer when ‘girls didn’t do that kind of thing’ and I explained that it went back to a 10-second (if that) comment from a teacher in primary school 60 years ago. He had gone around the class asking us what we wanted to be or do. I said I wanted to ‘build a bridge over the Zambezi’. Without missing a beat, he replied ‘You can do it.’ The rest is history.
So here’s a space for those inspiring 2-minute stories or 10-second boosts to morale, or an encouraging shout from the crowd to say ‘Keep going!’—because we all need that from time to time.
‘Cheers’
Mari