Asking for Help

I wouldn’t consider myself a team player.
I have always been the type of person who would rather just do something myself than have someone else assist me. I thought that bringing in another person with their own set of expectations about how things should be done complicated things, and I found that it was just easier to work alone.

So I created an entire life based on the premise that I didn’t need anyone’s guidance.
I believed that I was fine (even better off) without anyone’s help.

I created a business. I became my own boss. I got to decide what to do and when to do it. I got to call the shots.

And this isn’t entirely a bad thing.
There are parts of my solitary life that I absolutely love.
However, because of this view that I needed to do everything on my own, I developed a barrier between myself and the rest of the world. I found myself isolating and closing myself off from others. And even when I knew that I needed help, my pride and ego stood in the way of my asking for it. I somehow saw it as a weakness that I needed to ask at all. I thought that if I were truly strong and brave, I would be able to handle everything and continue going it alone.

And that part of my thinking is what I am working on changing.
Strength in Asking

It actually shows strength to ask for help. In doing so, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We are showing the world that we aren’t perfect – we don’t have it all figured out – and we could really use some help.

And if you get out there and ask for help, I guarantee the world will respond to you in so many positive ways.

It could be that you ask a coworker to take a look at a project that you are stuck on.
It could be that you ask a friend to take your kids out for ice cream for an hour, so you can have some time alone to recharge.
It could be that you have always done your own bookkeeping, but you’re finally realizing that your business has grown beyond what you have the time to keep up with. So you ask someone skilled in this area for help.
It could be that you join a spiritual group and honestly share that you are searching for answers to the meaning of life, but you could use some help finding them.
There are so many ways to ask for help, and you are the only one who can know exactly how someone could best serve you.
Make a list of all of the ways you could use some assistance in your life.
Then next to each item, write down who you could ask to help you.
And then begin going down your list and asking for help.

You do not have to go through life alone.
It is not a sign of strength to manage every part of your life on your own without ever asking for help.
It’s a sign of strength to know your weaknesses and allow yourself to be vulnerable enough to ask for assistance.

Go ahead and give it a try!