Seek Help If You Need It!
Kristyn Meyer is on a journey to make herself the best human that she can be. These posts are a reflection of that. She welcomes your support via reading and through commissioned affiliate links within her posts! To stay up to date on all of her shenanigans, please subscribe to her email list!(psst…there’s a free gift involved)
As humans, the bulk majority of us seem to share a common characteristic.
We are stubborn.
And I am no exception to that. I am stubborn as all get out. Remember the reason for my son’s name?
As I’ve gone through life, I’ve very rarely taken the opportunity to ask for help. I have been in so many situations where I desperately needed it, but didn’t ask for it. And I’m noticing that I am not alone. Very few people actually reach out when they need assistance – whether it be with work, kids, anything.
Why?
What are people so afraid of? Does it project weakness when we admit that we have too much on our plate?
Some may think so.
I did.
I have never wanted people to think that I couldn’t handle my responsibilities. That I am unreliable because I don’t do everything that is assigned to me. That I am taking the easy way out by having someone else do my tasks.
And then there was the parenting side of it too. I chose to have these kids, how can I say that I need help when the fact that they are here was by my own choice?
But we have to realize how ridiculous that all is. Collectively, as a society, we need to change that. It was recently released that they are declaring “burnout” a medical diagnosis. We are at a place in life where people are getting sick because they take too much on and refuse to get assistance from those around them, even if others are more than willing.
There is something so very wrong about that.
Why Is It So Hard To Seek Help?
If you were to ask someone for help because you had too many upcoming deadlines and couldn’t accomplish them all in a quality manner, what is the worst that could happen?
Would your boss be upset that you were delegating instead of owning the work yourself? Possibly. But would the work be done in time and as thoroughly as it should? Probably. And which do you think the boss would prefer?
If it’s a Friday night and you are exhausted from the week and can’t muster up enough energy to cook the kids dinner, what harm takes place if you ask Grandma to take the kids so you can get some rest?
Would the kids feel slighted because you chose sleep over time with them? Doubtful, but perhaps. Would Grandma be annoyed at having to watch the kids? Doubtful, but again perhaps. What are the chances that you will present as a much happier, engaged mom the following morning after catching up on your zzz’s? Very high. And you know that the kids would prefer that over the monster mother from the night before.
Asking for help is not a weakness, it’s a strength. It’s acknowledging that you can’t do it all and that to get the desired end result, you need to bring in others. Knowing that the opinion of others doesn’t matter when the goal is the betterment of all around you makes it so much easier. Shame needs to be taken off the table and the act of asking for help needs to be applauded.
It doesn’t just take a village to raise a child, it takes a village to keep the world running.
