Do you struggle to ask for help or accept it when it's offered? I used to be a shocker for this (and I can still slip back into my old ways pretty easily). Right from a young age, life had taught me that I couldn't rely on anyone else and no one really cared anyway! Either that or they'd find a way to throw it back in my face somewhere down the track! I became incredibly independent and I prided myself on my "strength". I even had a discussion with my Mum at one stage about why she was always helping my siblings but not me. She told me that she'd never needed to worry about me, I was always so independent and she knew I could take care of myself but my siblings needed her. I remember feeling pretty resentful of that and it just reinforced my feeling that no one cared! I lived my life like this, finding more and more reasons to believe that I couldn't rely on anyone but myself. It became a self fulfilling prophecy!
And then one day I was in a car accident and I had no choice. My recovery was long and slow and I was forced to ask for help on many occasions... and you know what, people did care and they were grateful I asked! They weren't making empty "if you need anything" gestures, they genuinely wanted to do something to help. I was still conscious not to over do it but think about it... how often have you seen a friend going through a rough time and you've wanted to do something to help but weren't quite sure how? How often have you felt frustrated when you've been met with an "I'm fine" answer and you know they're not? And on the flip side, how good does it feel when you're able to really help someone?
Take it from me, I know it takes more courage to ask for help than it does to suffer in silence. So if you're in that boat and I (or any of your loved ones) reach out, remember this... I'm not offering to help you because I think you're weak, I'm offering because it's an honour to help someone as strong as you.
Comments