Accept help when you need it

Don’t be afraid to let others help you

We all want to be independant, as children we grow up looking up to people who are independant and who are able to do everything on their own. While this may seem like the perfect scenario it’s not what we should all strive for in every situation.

The most succesful people in the world once needed the help from someone to get where they wanted. They may not have needed the help to build the largest company in the world, yet they needed a stepping stone to get started. Some of them started taking on a job and being fired for their performance or maybe even for the higher ambition that they showed than was needed at their current job. Everyone needs someone to believe in them at some point where others don’t. It makes a story more likeable if it mentions that they never needed anyone’s help. Yet it’s more believable and more realistic when it also mentions the lucky breaks they received. It may have been just a small break they needed to build what they own now.

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. – Alfred North Whitehead

To believe that we ourselves are enough that we don’t need any outside help is simply not true. If you would never need any help, no matter how small, you would be a superhuman. Everyone has some time of help unless you are living in the jungle with no persons nor animals around that help you or at least don’t hurt you. From the moment you acknowledge that you sometimes need help you can focus on doing most stuff on your own and ask for help when you really need it. For example maybe your life is perfect at the moment, but in a couple of years your employer might face bankruptcy. While you could get back up on your feet alone this is not advised. Rather than trying to go through it alone at least talk about it to friends and/or family. Not to expect something from them, but to get some pressure off by being able to talk about it.

After being helped be sure to consider who has helped you in what way and return the favor, preferably in tenfold when you are capable of doing so. This doesn’t mean that if they supported you finacially with a small amount that you have to give them a large amount. Help can be given in many ways, for example by cleaning their car for them, (maybe even unexpectedly), giving them flowers, helping out their children, sending them a thank you message for the help and so on. Even if you are not capable of helping them much the last one can be done no matter what, send them a message, a mail, a letter to thank them for their help. Showing your appreciation doesn’t have to cost a lot.