50 Ways to Encourage Anyone Anywhere at Any Time

People need encouragement, but sometimes we over-think things. Encouraging people does not have to take a ton of time or a lot of money. Instead, here are 50 ways you can encourage nearly anyone at any time. Enjoy the list, then add your own suggestions in the comments.

1. Make a phone call out of the blue.

2. Smile

3. Give a sincere compliment (no flattery allowed!)

4. Make a small donation to their favorite charity, school, etc.

5. Praise their children/grandchildren/parents

6. Invite them over for dinner

7. Send a small floral arrangement…just because

8. Find a chore that needs to be done and just do it

9. Leave a $20 on the door with a note reading, “Supper’s on us tonight”

10. Post an encouraging Bible verse or quote on their Facebook wall

11. Tell a clean joke

12. Listen

13. Visit a loved one of theirs who is in the hospital or a local assisted living home

14. Make a “double” recipe tonight and take the extra to them tomorrow

15. Send a card on the anniversary of them losing a loved one

16. Pray for them

17. Offer a night of free baby-sitting/dog-sitting/house-sitting

18. Have your children make a small “What I Love about …” project and give it to them

19. Send a private tweet or Facebook message asking for a prayer request

20. Mail a hand-written note (remember those?)

21. Give a gift subscription to a favorite magazine for 1 year

22. Gift a Kindle book [may I suggest this one?] or Amazon gift card

23. Send a small ($5) e-card to a coffee house or restaurant with good desserts

24. Walk a fresh loaf of bread or batch of brownies down to their house

25. Have an old-fashioned talk on the front porch

26. Create a blog post or Facebook note honoring them

27. Remember their birthday

28. Hug

29. Have a small gift (balloons, for example) delivered to their workplace

30. Ask them to stay for a nightly family devotional

31. Pick a random day and just ask, “What can I do to help you today?”

32. Volunteer for a charity or organization they love

33. Give them a note from your child with their ball schedule (or recital, play, etc. schedule) saying, “I’d love for you to come!”

34. Invite them to church. Even if they don’t come, people appreciate that you care enough to invite

35. Leave an anonymous gift (like a potted plant) on the porch

36. Ask about their kids/grandkids and be ready to listen

37. Go out to eat with them

38. Call them by name

39. Remember your “please’s,” “thank you’s,” sir’s,” and “ma’am’s.”

40. Treat their children with honor

41. Attend the funeral when they lose a loved one

42. If it is too far away, send a gift of some kind to let them know you are there in spirit

43. Help coordinate some part of their life when a tragedy happens (travel plans, meals, or child care are just some suggestions)

44. Text regularly, just to say hello

45. Encourage them in their work. Treat it as valuable and important

46. “Just happen” to buy an extra ticket to the ball game or concert and invite them

47. Take care of their house when they are gone on vacation

48. Go the extra mile in any service you might do for them

49. Be joyful and peaceful around them

50. Did I mention, pray for them?

QUESTION: What else would you add? What almost universally brings encouragement to others?

————————–

Photo credit: the_moment on Creative Commons

To receive our blog posts via rss, click here. To subscribe via email, click here.

To sign up for our free monthly enewsletter, click here.

Click the banner to visit our publishing website