Praise or Encourage

Should I praise or encourage?
How do I know what's what?
Being told I'm really good,
Or what is it I'm good at?

Praise can make my head spin
With wonders at my prowess
But if I am encouraged
I start to understand the process

Of what it is I do that works
Or that which misses the mark
With praise all I ever know
Is if I am a "bright spark"!

When someone stops praising me
I wonder how I failed
To impress my praiser
And dropped so low in the scale

Am I no longer such a "good girl"?
Did I not do "great work!"?
Don't I have any "talent"?
Did I act like a jerk?

Now with encouragement
Here are the things I feel
Acceptance and self-confidence
The words I hear reveal

My effort will pay back in spades
Taking a risk is safe
Now I've learned
to set my goals
Beyond the limits of praise!