Discouragement

Can be a debilitating hindrance and can alter your thought process to thinking you are a failure, what is the meaning of life if your dreams are not fulfilled, and giving up is the best choice. How do you assist someone in thinking the opposite? How do you encourage someone who is feeling discourage..... someone with Autism?

Yesterday my daughter texted me in a rage and I could tell something was wrong. Within minutes she tells me she didn’t get the job at Kohl’s and was also turned down by two other employers the same day. My heart felt like it stopped beating and my stomach felt like it was just punched by a heavyweight boxer. As a parent you feel for your child..... even if they are a young adult. But in that same agony I quickly turned it around and I started to do what I did best... give nonstop encouragement. My words were not her friend at firs; yet I kept going with uplifting words and other point of view. Then there was a shift.

The discouragement was no longer at the forefront, but my daughter said something that made me pause and look at it through her eyes. The discouragement she felt wasn’t about meeting her needs, but it was all about meeting mine. Her drive and passion to getting a job was about fulfilling a purpose to help me. She thought and wanted to be able to give me something. She wants to help me and when those doors she knocked on didn’t open she was devastated. What do you do or say?

Going forward, together we are going to readjust our resume, continue with college at Albertus Magnus, and remember that discouragement is an emotion that lasts for a short period of time, but encouragement is forever. I encourage you all to push thru and press on when times of discouragement ails you. And for those of you who have loved ones who may not be able to process the emotion and feeling..... keep speaking those words that make them feel good and resonate with them.

If anyone is or has felt some form of discouragement please let me know your story.