Asking for help is a strength

Remember what it felt like when you helped someone? You couldn't help but feel great for lending a hand and supporting someone else. Sadly, we shy away from asking for help for ourselves. Why is that? For some, they heard the phrase, "what happens in this house, stays in this house or don't air your dirty laundry in public." What messages did you receive about asking for help? Each one of us will face challenges and some of those challenges require support from others more skilled, more knowledgeable about what area we need more clarity or more ideas.  Think about all the times you didn't ask for help. How did you feel? Frustrated, overwhelmed and possibly resentful because it took more time than you wanted to solve your challenge.

I caught myself feeling frustrated when I initially didn't ask for help. I was writing my newsletter, the format kept shifting and I was getting annoyed. My first thought was, delegate this to my assistant and then my ego chimed in to convince me that I could easily do it. After several tries, I simply emailed her to take care of it for me as she is a whiz at technology. 

In my past career I was a seasoned family and children's counsellor, and I saw too often where clients felt ashamed about the problem they came to see me about. It's okay to have problems. It's okay to talk about problems at appropriate times with safe people. You don't need to forfeit your self confidence or your personal power because you are faced with a challenge. 

The next time you ask for help remember you are depositing in to your self confidence and self esteem because the gesture indicates you believe you are worthy of telling the truth about your situation. Everyone can relate to experiencing challenges and feeling alone and frustrated. 

Avoid robbing yourself or a trusted person of connecting on a deeper level.  My challenge to you is to review where in your life could you use some help, some guidance, some clarity, a solution or just support? Take action.                         Inner strength follows!