10 Ways Women Should Support Each Other
Top and Skirt from Lepa Boutique – I will be hosting an event there October 20th. Please stay tuned for more details!
This is a constant topic for entrepreneurs, my group of girlfriends, moms and the blogging community. In general, you would think it is easy to support each other, but it seems like sometimes competition or issues within ourselves keeps us from being the best we can be to each other.
The last post on Money: Know Your Worth got great feedback from you and with this topic in my head I thought to myself, how do I need support and how do I support my friends?
Below are ten things I do or that I would love from my friends for support. These are just stepping stones to continue to push each other to grow, be positive towards each other and see each other successes as great things for all of us.
Top and Skirt from Lepa Boutique – I will be hosting an event there October 20th. Please stay tuned for more details!
#1 Ask them “How are you?”, “How is work?”, “How’s your family?” This is the simplest thing to do, but I am surprised by how many people don’t ask questions and just talk. Knowing how someone is and showing that you genuinly care, makes a world of difference!
#2 LISTEN. Listen to the answer! If something is going on with them, check in with them again. Call or show up with support if they need it based on what you hear.
#3 Show up in their life. If they are hosting an event, show support. If they need help with someone at their home or kids or family, help out! Really showing up just means to be there with a hand when someone needs it. When I moved from my big home to my apartment, I had a friend show up and it meant the world to me. I have another friend who always calls to check up on me and shows up in my life by her constant calls even though she doesn’t live here in Chicago.
#4 Don’t assume things. COMMUNICATE. These days Facebook and Instagram can create havoc on FOMO and making you feel like you don’t belong, got ignored, or worse, left out on purpose. If you feel left out, tell your friend, but my solution is to plan a dinner myself. It is too hard these days to include everyone. If your mom group or friend group leaves you out, most of the time it’s by accident! Everyone is so busy these days, sometimes you think everyone knows. Don’t assume it’s about you. Solve it by planning something.
#5 If your friend owns a small business, support her by either spreading the word or shopping it (if you like her product or service). Why does everyone post large retailers? Let’s support each other’s services as well and spread the word. I try to share about my girlfriend’s businesses often, from PR services to my designer friends. Just ask me about it and I share away! I need to be better about searching for smaller businesses so this is on my task list, but overall I love spreading the word.
#6 Compliment and congratulate each other! This is such a big thing. Text, call, talk to your friends and congratulate them when things are going well or something big happens. Gosh, I’ve seen women who completely ignore or hate on other people’s success (or avoid saying anything) and I’ve experienced it myself. I LOVE seeing my friends succeed. Their success makes me so happy and I believe in good energy and karma. Remember, we create our own path and someone else’s path should not minimize what you are doing.
#7 Do a girls trip/spa/lunch once in a while. I love these and it helps me stay connected with them, relax and have fun. It could be as simple as grabbing coffee with your friends for 20 minutes. Think Sex and the City chats and catching up.
#8 Don’t judge (or try not to). This is for men and women. I see judgments and opinions as very different things. A judgment is typically a negative assumption about someone. Let’s judge each other less, let’s not pay attention to trolls or the ones that have issues with supporting each other and remember that people aren’t always what they seem. You never know what someone is going through online or your first meeting. If someone is unpleasant, it is easiest to just move on. Don’t spend the energy to judge them.
#9 Surround yourself with good people. If you know a friend going through something and you have another friend in a similar situation, why not introduce them? It makes all the difference who you surround yourself with and it should be good people that care, listen, and support. And don’t spend your energy on those that drain you or aren’t your friend for the right reason. For me, it was those that didn’t genuinely care how I was, that matters to me deeply.
#10 “Empowered women, empower women.” I recently saw this quote and loved it. It is so true! Being confident, sharing successes and being happy for others has greatly enabled me to succeed and get through this year. Thank you (you know who you are) for supporting me, showing up, listening, and happy to see me happy. Empower each other by helping each other and not being competitive.
Is there anything I missed? What do you need in terms of support?
I loved this article as well about empowering each other every day. For more articles about me, read them here.
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