THUMBS UP/THUMBS DOWN

Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

There are many things we can thank our parents for; the financial support, the emotional support but what keeps us going throughout the rest of our lives is the encouragement they give us. Whenever we start doing something we get by on self-motivation. We simply psyche ourselves up by believing that one day those long ours in the gym will pay off. But then somewhere in between something happens; we lose all that psyche. We ask ourselves, "how come I'm no getting any bigger?", "why aren't the results any clear?". One thing will get you through that tough moment when you are in the gap between two trapeze, that moment when you are sick to your stomach and all that fear will materialize into a quick regurgitation and you will let go and even give up; encouragement.

Getting encouragement is easy. People all around you, even those that don't really like you, will chose to tell you that your work was impressive. The problem is that encouragement won't really go a long way unless you are willing to take it seriously.
When your mother tells you that a song you wrote was exemplary, you can either take it positively and acknowledge the fact that your mother truly wants you to succeed or you can be negative and assume that it's simply mother being her usual self.
Today, I visited my high school. I met a good friend of mine called Allan(that is his real name. No pseudonyms used here). Allan had always been an intelligent guy. From his upper-class speech pattern to the angle at which he held his chin up. That guy shut superiority. Now, Allan has always been the first person that I would send the link to the blog to on facebook.
Today, Allan gave me some feedback. It was not what I expected. As a friend I would expect him to be positive about the whole thing but this is what he said, "by the way, what's up with you and that blog? It sucks. Have you read other people's blogs?". Those are his words. Nothing has been added or subtratcted.
Yeah, how encouraging, right?
After a while of thinking about it I came to a conclusion that I should have come to as soon as he opened his mouth. The one thing that Allan would not accept is defeat, not necessary defeat but admission to the fact that someone had done something that he had not thought about. Now, I'm not saying that the work on this blog is gold but the fact that Allan was willing to put me down made me realise that maybe it was good enough(but it could still be better).
The point is that not everyone gives encouragement by saying shit like, "that was awesome" some might be a lot more cynical about it but they are giving encouragement nonetheless.
In order to find encouragement, you might need to listen to the meaning beyond the spoken word. Don't let small issues put you down. If someone wanted to put you down then it means that what you are doing has some worth to it.
Encouragement- negativity from those who disapprove of your potential greatness.

P.s. Sometimes when someone tells you that your work sucks, it just might be true. However, don't let that stop you from doing what you love to do.