Asking for Help Should Not be So Hard

I love helping others..but I absolutely hate asking others to help me.

Help.  4 simple letters that spell one simple word. 

Why is that word so very hard to say???

I love helping others.  It makes me happy when someone reaches out and asks for help.  I like knowing that others feel comfortable asking because we ALL need help from time to time.

BUT…I absolutely hate asking others for help.  I used to kid myself into thinking I didn’t want to ask because I didn’t want to “bother” anyone.

You know what?  I had a harsh reality check last week when I realized something that I am NOT loving about myself.  Any guesses what that is?

I realized that I don’t like to ask for help because of my ego.  Yup.  How painful is that to say out loud?  It’s painful.  Trust me.

I can pretend that I don’t want to bother people, but the real truth of it is that I don’t want to look like I need help.  I don’t want to look “weak” or “less than.”  After all, who the heck would want to work with a time management coach that needed to ask others for help, right???

How ridiculous is that??

I know I am not alone in this thinking.  Do you readily and easily ask for help?  Or, do you continue pushing and pushing yourself harder and harder trying to do everything….while resentment builds up for those around you because they are not stepping in and offering help?

I wasted so many years of my life struggling to do everything…but desperately wishing someone would see how exhausted I was and offer to help.  It never happened.  Most of us are so darn busy worrying about ourselves that we don’t see when others are secretly crying for help.  But, when I finally tapped out…when I finally knew I needed help…and got brave enough to ask for it, guess what happened?  Yup. I got help.  Lots of it.  Graciously and happily.  Magical, isn’t it?

The one part of asking for help I am still working on (especially with my loved ones), is making sure I ask for help before I am irritated, frustrated and exhausted.  Yelling for help from a place of anger is very different than asking for help before I am desperate.  I still haven’t mastered this part, but I am getting better.