Support

The older I get the more I realize the concept of support from others is underrated.

Do not misunderstand me.  By "support" I do not mean the concept of "It takes a village to do anything".  Communal effort is necessary and we do rely on others frequently for direct and indirect assistance, but in the end things are only done when someone - one person - does one thing.

What I mean by support is the underlying belief from others that you are able to do something, that at your core you are capable.  Capable of what?  Of the things that you are thinking to do.

Why is this so critical?  The first reason is simply because the world and society in general seeks to tear things down rather than support.  The Japanese adage "The nail that sticks up is hammered down" is bitterly amusing because it is true.  Most people will spend more energy tearing something down to their level rather than supporting someone that is trying to get to a new level.  As someone who is trying do anything, we need all the support we can muster.

The second reason is that such belief can inspire and motivate us even when we cannot motivate ourselves.  One of the best quotes I have found in 2013 is "If you believe in someone, even more than they believe in themselves, they will do anything to succeed" by Jessica Fagnan.  This belief in others - especially when they have lost confidence in themselves - is often enough to move them through the period of doubt and dismay and sustain them until they are able to rekindle the spirit themselves.

Interestingly, from the standpoint of human relations there is probably no better way for an individual to become a friend or dear one of another than becoming an ardent supporter of their actions.  Why?  I believe it is because we gravitate towards those who do such things as we recognize instinctively that such support is incredibly rare and that if we are to achieve anything, we will need such people.

Money passes, distances intervene, passions cool, circumstances occur - but the one who supports another in their endeavors will always in the end have great value.  Why?  Because in the face of a world that seeks to make everything uniform, one had someone who held one up in one's quest to be unique and one who accomplishes instead of one who merely carries on.