Help! I Need Somebody!

Seems harmless enough. However, that word conjures up feelings of struggle inside me. It has taken me a long time to learn to ask for help. Or even to delegate tasks at work. See I always believed I had to do it. I didn’t want to let anyone down. I had to be perfect and part of that meant I should be able to do it on my own.

Asking for help, literally saying, “I need your help in moving this table.” or “I need you to take the kids to school tomorrow”, was something I wouldn’t do. I didn't feel like I could for a long time. It was my task to move the table, and these are my kids, how could I pawn them off on someone else, even though it is my husband, father of our children. :-) I know what you are thinking. This seems extreme. But for me, seriously, asking my husband to take our daughters to daycare was a big deal. Hell, even now having someone walk my groceries to my car seems weird.

At work, I know when I need more expertise than what I may have. In my profession, not asking for help can lead to serious problems. As for time/task management I have also struggled with saying, I’m not going to be able to finish this on time or I need someone to take part of it. Learning to delegate was a big lesson for me. I had to learn to do only the tasks that only I can do. But it empowered me to excel at the things that only I could do and give others the opportunity to broaden their skills and learn potentially something new.

So why am I so stuck on this right now? Something as silly as a ring tone has brought up the emotions I hold about asking for help. the ringtone that was picked for me is a Beatles song. I love the Beatles. I could name about 20 other Beatles songs before "Help!". Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Imagine, Good Day Sunshine, there are so many great ones. Does "Help" really describe me? Worrying about how others perceive me is a whole other topic that will be left for a later date. For now, Let's get back on topic.

I want to let this go, but in order to do that, I feel like I have to put this out into the universe.

I am Perfectly human.

I will need the help of others throughout this life.

I will support others the healthiest way possible as they are in need of help.

Asking for help is not a weakness.

That feels right for me. We all need help at some time. We are all perfectly human. We all need help at some time and some of us are lucky enough to have people that will help us.