There’s No Shame In Asking For Help
“You can do anything…but not everything.” ~ David Allen
There’s no shame in asking for help. No matter how extensive your skillset may be, there’s only so much you can accomplish on your own. Our capacity is limited in several ways…time & energy being the biggest limitations. But when you’re used to doing everything yourself, relinquishing control can be an arduous task. Being able to ask for help takes both courage and humility, because our pride makes it difficult to admit we can’t do something on our own. Asking for help is another way to pour into yourself. It helps you retain your strength. Accepting the assistance of others removes responsibilities from your plate, giving you the opportunity to rest & recharge, and still accomplish your goals.
“Some people aren’t good at asking for help because they’re so used to being ‘the helper.’ Throughout their life they’ve experienced an unbalanced give and take, so their instinct is usually ‘I’ll figure it out on my own.’ The self-reliance is all they’ve ever known.” ~ Toni Tone
When you’re labeled as the “strong” one your time & energy will constantly be in demand. There’s always someone wanting something from you. Having learned to be self-sufficient, the thought of asking for assistance in return rarely crosses your mind. It’s who you are at your core. When you’re used to doing everything on your own, involving others doesn’t feel natural. If you involve the wrong people, it can slow down your progress, especially when you want things done a certain way. By the time you finish describing the way you want something done, you could’ve done it yourself. But it’s impossible to scale your efforts to great heights going solo. Building a great team whose abilities fill in your experiential gaps can increase your success exponentially.
“Most people don’t help their friends because they fear they might grow an inch taller than them.” ~ Michael Bassey Johnson
Asking for help can be critical to your future success, but you must be discerning when choosing who to ask. There may be situations where someone in your close circle doesn’t want to see you succeed. You can do well…just not better than them. Be cognizant of “friends” who compete with your success in an unhealthy way. A little friendly competition is good when the goal is to encourage each other to grow. But if you sense their willingness to step on you to get to the next level, you may want to reconsider who you allow access to you.
“Do not suffer in silence. Somebody somewhere is willing and prepared to help in any way to encourage, empower, and support you.” ~ Germany Kent
We’re all human. And being human means, you will experience moments of weakness. Moments when the weight of the world becomes too much to bear on your own. The attentive & loving ear of a trusted friend can work wonders for the soul. Being the self-reliant one, it’s rare I reach out to anyone when I feel unsettled about something. I pray…work it out in my mind…and go on with life. There’s rarely anything anyone can do to fix the situation anyway, so why talk about it? That’s my thinking anyway. But there are rare occasions when God will have a close friend call me before I’ve had time to process it internally, and I end up discussing my dilemma. And I must admit, it does feel better to get it off my chest sometimes. Even if they can’t fix it. Sometimes you need someone else to speak faith into your situation…into your life. You’re not the first person to experience what you’re going through. You never know when someone can add some additional insight to help you put things in perspective. There’s no shame in asking for help. What is a shame is suffering in silence when you don’t have to. It takes a village to get through this life. Just be sure your tribe is rock solid. You never know. One day your life may depend on it.
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