The power of words

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday that elicits the words I used in my title. I went to dinner with some friends (we keep in touch through emails and facebook, and we see each other once a month) and one of this friends just came back from a cruise. She was upset that her diet efforts had suffered as a consequence because she had gained two pounds, after loosing eight (I think). I explained to her that the average weight gain in a cruise is 5 pounds (I gained 5, another friend gained 8, offering further proof that the average is correct). I also told her that the important thing is that she got back on track. Yesterday, before I saw her, her facebook profile update stated that she was exercising. I congratulated her on getting back on track.
Here is where the power of words come into play. When I got to dinner, she mentioned that my messages were keeping her going. I wrote those messages to keep her doing what she is doing, to do it in a healthy way and so that she does not feel discouraged when "life" throws you a curve ball. What I had no idea was that when she told me how they made her feel, I felt really good about myself. Not only do I practice what I preach but I actually made an impact on someone else, even if it is small. And that made me feel like a million bucks. So no matter what happens or the challenges ahead, keep trying.