How Can I help?

Among my weaknesses, is the difficulty I have in asking for help. Simply said, I’m uneasy to be or be seen as vulnerable. I’m not alone in this confession, so I’ve heard. 

For as far as I can remember, I’ve had the go it alone, I’ll make it on my own attitude. It served me well until it didn’t. 

I’ve been in crisis before and the hardest thing I’ve found is asking for help when I most needed it. It was during these times of crisis that I asked for and received life-changing help. 

Vulnerability is a constant companion for us to face our own needs and challenges, and discover the treasures that lay on the other side of them. I used to see vulnerability as a representation of my weaknesses, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.  

The truth is no one does things of significance on their own. Trust me, I’ve tried to live the go it alone myth. We all get help—seen and unseen—from countless numbers around us.

Friends, colleagues, partners, teachers, advisors, writers, and artists, have all helped me.  

Here’s my standing offer—a life-line for some: How can I help you? 

Turning it around: How can you offer help to others, and especially those who have yet to ask for it?

Aim this to a co-worker, boss, friend, colleague, partner, mate, parent, child, neighbor, or simply a stranger who needs it.

Turn it around again: How can you help me? This might include helping me see my blind-spots, getting the word out to more people about my services and writing, or simply sharing constructive feedback? 

Allow yourself to be astonished by life, by putting yourselves out-there in ways that astonish others.