I caught some of my friends off guard today. They were unaware that I once had a passion for writing poetry and music, two of my favourite pastimes as a teenager. The even bigger shock to my friends was that I’d once auditioned for Australian Idol. As I smiled and reminisced about my attempt at a music career, my emotions were overridden by hurt. I remembered the lack of support I had the day before my audition.

One of my closest friends at the time, said to me quite adamantly:

“If you go on Australian Idol, I’m not going to watch it. I hate those type of shows.”

After those comments were made, I was absolutely crushed. That person, whose opinion I valued and who meant almost everything to me, didn’t care how important this was to me. They neglected to see how much I needed their support.

Why supporting others is so important

All of us have different types of talents; some of us were born to be musicians, some of us are fuelled by our passion for photography, some of us could be future Olympic athletes. But we all have different interests, different passions, different purposes in life. We all have different paths to follow.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t support others in their success as well.

Photo Credit: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When we give family and friends our support, we are showing them that we care about them and their lives. It’s easy to say it with words, but it’s important to follow through with our actions. We need to give them encouragement, guide them with motivation, praise them for their efforts and help them get up from their failures.

• We may not particularly like the idea of sitting in a theatre to watch a play, but our friend deserves our support in their role.
• We may not like listening to anything besides pop music, but we can still listen to our friend practise with their rock band.
• We may not enjoy reading, but we can still frequent our friend’s blog to tell them how well they’re doing.

Having different interests to someone else does not stop you from being interested in them and what they do.

How helping others helps the world

As well as helping the person themselves, we are helping the world become a better place.

The fact is, we can’t all be musicians who help people feel different emotions, we can’t be film directors who change the way people think, and we can’t be IT technicians who keep systems running. But we can support those who can do those things.

All of us have a different part to play in the world. We need to support the part that everyone else plays.

Supporting others in their success

Just like everyone else, I’ve needed a good supportive network. If it weren’t for my family and friends, I wouldn’t be writing for you today. I have a husband who never gave up on my ability to write. He believed in me when I honestly didn’t believe in myself. I have family who tell me how proud they are of my success. I have friends who tell me I’m inspirational because of what I’m doing for other people. As well as believing in myself, it’s their encouragement that keeps me going.

When we support others in their success, we are helping them become better and happier people. All of us need to have a good support network; we can’t do it alone. We need to be surrounded by positive, encouraging people.

So next time someone asks you to attend their basketball game, go to their art exhibition, or watch their musical performance; think twice about how much your presence would mean to them.

Your support probably means a lot more to them than you think.

Thuy Le (formerly known as Thuy Yau) is a freelance writer and Youth Work graduate living in Perth, Australia. She loves to share her own personal experiences about overcoming adversity, as she believes that human beings are more capable than they realise. She writes to make a positive difference in the world and to inspire others to learn from themselves and their own experiences. Her writing has been discussed on radio, won writing contests, appeared on The Huffington Post UK and major Australian sites such as news.com.au, SMH, Kidspot and Essential Kids. She has just completed her first book – a memoir - and is on the search for a publisher.