Support and encouragement are key to communication

“Let’s encourage one another because we are all field players in our fields in life. Parents should cheer their kids on when they do well and root for them when they need support." (excerpt from Lee Geum-hee’s Let’s Encourage One Another)

I am also a “player in the field.” At the same time, I am a parent and an entrepreneur of 19 years looking after my employees. Sometimes I grow suspicious of others’ performance. I think about how things could have worked out better if a different approach had been taken. But after encountering this sentence, I realized I am just another “player in the field.” How am I doing my part?

Looking back, I realize that I enjoyed being complimented and supported. It gave me new energy that helped propel new challenges. Sometimes we are rash in our thinking. We are quick to share our experience, knowledge, and feedback with our children or colleagues, though they have not been asked for. There is no set answer to the questions of this world, and no one starts perfectly. In a quickly evolving world, answers that were correct in the past can no longer be true today.

Everything has beginnings, and we grow as much as we spend time and effort. Thus, we must accept that people and things are different. Of course, it is not easy to judge and evaluate others. But let’s imagine ourselves as field players being coached and prodded all the time. How would it feel to have someone always give me ques as a father? What would my self-esteem be like if someone ceaselessly contradicted my being and ordered me to do better all the time?

We are all field players that do our best in our ways. As leaders, parents, friends, and colleagues, accepting others as they are and rooting for them is a huge comfort and support. Indeed, the key to good communication is support and encouragement.