Help! A brave word – many of us grow up with the belief that it is weak to ask for help, when actually it’s a sign of self-respect.

As we grow up, many of us are taught by close caregivers that it is not socially desirable or accepted to show weakness. As a result, we may think that if you want to be seen as strong, you have to do everything on your own, or that you can’t rely on anyone but yourself. Asking for help when we need it is therefore often not an option worth considering. So we struggle through life alone, no matter how difficult it may get.
However, asking for help is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary – it is a sign of strength and self-respect. It shows that we know our possibilities, but also our limits. Once these have been reached, we allow ourselves to bring others on board. We give responsibility to them as a sign of our trust. We allow a little weight to be lifted from our shoulders. And when the time comes and we feel strong enough, we may be able to give back and pass on the help we have received to others.
Asking for help from others also strengthens our social relationships. Getting help from family, friends or acquaintances makes both us and others feel good. The person who is asked for help feels needed and possibly even honoured that their skills and empathy are seen as helpful; the person asking for help can allow themselves to admit the need for support in a trusting relationship.
But even when we ask complete strangers for help, this has a positive effect. If we approach people on the street or in the supermarket to ask for help, we will have different experiences: we may be rejected and thus train our ability to endure socially challenging situations, or we may receive the help we’re asking for and benefit from the helpfulness of a person we don’t even know, which strengthens our trust in humanity.
Help! A brave word – if you want to practise asking for help, start with people you trust in order to gain positive experiences. You can then experiment with asking people you don’t know for a little help – for example, asking the time, asking for directions or asking for a wifi hotspot.
How do you feel about the idea of asking for and accepting help? Would you like to train your skills and strengthen your courage regarding this topic?
Let’s talk about it in a free initial session!
#help #acceptance #faith #strength #selfrespect
