How to ask for help
Do you find it hard to ask for or accept help from other people even though you feel stressed out every day?
You feel overwhelmed with that never ending to do list that you spend every day rushing around trying to get to the bottom of?
The thing is, if you’re feeling those things but you’re not willing to ask for help, then guess what?
Nothing’s going to change, everything’s just going to stay the same, you’re just always going to have too much to do everyday.
But it’s not quite that easy.
There’s a bit of a problem.
Because asking for help can be tricky.
Accepting help can be tricky too. And I know that because I used to find both of those really hard.
Why do we find it so hard to ask for help?
I’m going to guess it’s because you think that by the time you’ve explained to somebody what you’d like them to do, you could have just done it yourself, am I right?
I’m also guessing that you don’t like asking for help because nobody can do the job as well as you can!
The other things that stop us from asking for help are that we feel like we’re putting on people
We’re putting people out,
We’re asking too much,
We feel like we’re failing,
We should be able to do it all, shouldn’t we? I mean, that’s what we’re meant to do!
We don’t want to appear weak like we aren’t coping.
And all those things really are things that we can overcome, because if we want to lighten the load and lower our stress levels then we need to overcome those issues and learn to ask for and accept help.
My 3 Tops Tips
I’d like to share some tips to help you shift your mindset around asking for help.
Think about the other person instead of yourself
Instead of thinking how the other person won’t do as good a job, or by the time I’ve asked for help I could have done it myself, or I feel like a failure,
I challenge you to think about the impact asking has on the other person.
It makes that person feel valued.
It makes them feel important.
They’re happy to be of help, of service.
It can boost their self esteem, and that’s particularly the case if it’s in a work environment, maybe you have a more junior employee and asking them to do something really does give them a boost. It’s the same for children too.
Consider the benefits of connecting with other people
Asking for help allows you to connect more with other people. Connecting with other people helps reduce stress and improves your overall health and well-being.
Remember why you are asking for help!
The reason you are asking for help is to lighten your load. To take some things of that never ending to do list, which gives you some breathing space, it gives you a little bit of time to yourself which in turn lowers your stress and means you feel less overwhelmed all of the time!
And Finally
Remember…
Just because somebody doesn’t do something your way doesn’t mean it is wrong
Mistakes will be made, but they are not life threatening.
In a few weeks, months, years from now, will it really matter?
It takes a bit of practice, but I can guarantee the more you try and the more you realise that just because something isn’t done your way, doesn’t mean that it isn’t done right, you will start to ask for help more, you’ll start to be able to receive help, and you’ll have less to do.
Good luck!
Fancy an extra 10 hours of time a week?
Download my video guide ‘Overwhelmed to On Top of Things’ which takes you through the exact 4 test you need to take to free up at least 10 hours a week