Last week was a rough week. I have been enduring noise issues with my neighbour (theirs not mine) for over a year now, but it got 5x worse in a matter of days.

Five days to be precise.

I had an emotional breakdown on the final night and fired off a message to a friend hoping they could provide a helping ear to my predicament.

Encouragement is always needed

And help, boy, did she!

What I got back was a slew of messages detailing how she dealt with a noisy neighbour, and I haven’t stopped laughing since.

I’m going to call her “The Newfie Gangsta” from now on because I don’t ever want to cross her.

Her messages were exactly what I needed at the time, and since.

She didn’t try to tell me what to do, like others had. She didn’t try to make me feel weak and useless for not having already dealt with this situation, like others had. All she tried to do was make me not feel alone in my situation, and by doing so she encouraged me to not be defeated by these asshats.

That’s got me through the night – her encouragement.

Encouragement Cards

This whole situation reminded me of the importance of the right kind of encouragement in times of stress. We don’t always need nor want to be told what to do or made to feel incompetent when in need of assistance. Often we just need a little of the right kind of encouragement to make it through the other side.

A lot of the encouragement I rely on comes from the wisdom and experiences of others. They can be famous or close friends or strangers. Encouragement comes in all forms and types.

So I thought I’d take a few of my most favourite encouraging quotes and create six (6) encouragement cards just for you. I even created them in two (2) different sizes – mini card (1″x3″) and business card (2″x3.5″).

Guidelines are provided for easy cutting.

Use these for yourself or give them out to others. My laptop monitor is currently showcasing this C.S. Lewis quote (yes, my office is dark 🙄):

I’ve stuck a couple in library books to be discovered by the next reader. I’ve had a couple posted to my hallway board swiped by friends who wanted to stick in their bags.

Everyone needs a little encouragement; now you have another way of passing it on to yourself and to others. 😊