Asking for help can conjure up a lot of feelings. We can feel stupid, burdensome, out of place, out of line, incompetent. Great list of feelings, ey? No wonder Procrastinators, who are often feeling these feelings anyway, have difficulty knowing how and when to ask for help.
Look at asking for help in a positive light. By asking for help you are:
- breaking out of your distress
- connecting with someone who is available to help you
- showing others you are open to their viewpoints
- opening new pathways for yourself
Here is the world's quickest guide for How To Ask for Help:
- with an open mind
- with an open heart
- with open ears
- with gratitude
- with great eye contact
Followed by the world's quickest guide for When To Ask for Help:
- when help is available
- before there's a crisis
- right when you realize you're starting to feel anxious
- when you feel really stuck
- before the deadline
- any time you need it
Now, I could write 100 more “quickest guides” on how and when to ask for help, but I know making the leap from doing everything yourself to trusting you'll benefit from the help of someone else can seem anything but quick (or easy). I do think the world is filled with people and resources to help. Not just anyone. To help you. If you are not yet ready to ask a real someone for help, please do some research anyway. For instance, you could Google your issue and see who might be a resource for you. You could find an on-line forum for people struggling with the same dilemma you have. You could check with your friends to see what they have in mind for the assignment you are all working on. Ease into it and then learn how to glide.
(As full disclosure, I would like you to know that my blog would never have happened if I did not ask for help. There were things I just could not do by myself, no matter how much I wanted to. For technical support, I asked for the help of my friend, Marlee Schwartz, whose enthusiasm for my blog and ideas seemed to surpass mine. For blogging inspiration, I turned to Courtney Carver, who has been a steady, compassionate, and wise guide through this learning experience I am currently going through.)
What help might you need? Use your get-up-and-go impulse and give someone who can help you a call, text, or e-mail. If you feel you could benefit from my help, please let me know.
