Know Thine Frenemy

We all seek approval. We have a need to know that we are right. But we are human. There are many times when we are wrong.

It’s at those times that it’s important to know the difference between approval and support.

It can often be far more difficult to find someone who stands by us than it is to find someone who agrees with us.

Supporters are there to uphold and bolster through good times and bad. Approvers can be fickle, changing their opinions and withdrawing their backing at a whim.

Support is not approval just as approval is not support and the two are not inter-changeable. Action speaks far louder than words. It’s not necessary for supporters to make a noise to make their presence felt. They were there, they are there and they will be there. Approvers have a need to be heard and noticed.

And while approvers can feign support, supporters feel no obligation to approve. They are in it for the long game.

Life brings with it challenges…some unwelcome and unexpected and others of our own creation.

It’s when faced with those challenges that we need our supporters. We need to know that there are those on whom we can rely; those who offer their loyalty and their love no matter what.

Approval comes from the head…support from the heart.