How good are you at asking for help? Do you secretly (or not so secretly) feel there’s shame in not being able to do something all by yourself? Do you let your pride get in the way of your goals?
It can be hard to ask for help. Heck, it can be hard to admit we need help in the first place!
But do you want to be the toddler in the room shouting “I do it myself” or do you want to make progress towards your goals?
Humans are connected creatures. Most of us don’t do well if we’re isolated. We need to rely on each other.
You make progress faster when you ask for help
The sooner you ask for help, the sooner you find yourself on the path to getting where you want to be. I’ll tell you a little story: one of my clients needed a software system for his business. Evaluating the various options was on his list for months; it just seemed like just a big endeavor, so he just kept procrastinating. During a session, I asked him about his process for evaluation and I discovered that he was trying to obtain all the comparison info for himself, but scouring the websites of each vendor. I suggested that instead, he send his list of questions to the sales email for each of the vendors. I suggested that he ask for help. And you know what happened. Less than a week later, he had the info he needed to make a decision and move forward.
You make progress faster when you don’t rely only on yourself
How long does it take you to clean the kitchen if you’re doing it alone? And how long if you ask your spouse or roommate to help? “Many hands make light work” is an adage for a reason. Taking everything on yourself is not only unrealistic, it’s a recipe for burnout. And if you burnout, you’ll definitely make slower progress.
You make progress faster when you follow the path forged by someone whose done it before.
When I’m trying to do something new, something I’ve never done before and don’t know much about, I always seek out people who’ve done it before. I can learn from their mistakes vs. making those mistakes myself. I can capitalize on the work of someone who’s done it before, and probably more than once. When you follow a path that someone else has forged, does that mean that you’ll do everything exactly the same? Nope. But it means that you can more easily and quickly figure out where you want to pivot from their path, without going down a ton of dead ends.
Indulge me if you will and let me ask you a few more questions:
- Did any athlete make to the Olympics without a coach?
- Does anyone received a PhD without the support of an advisor?
- Has anyone written a great book without an editor?
No, no and no! To do great things, we all need help.
Now, will you get there eventually, no matter what route you take? Maybe.
Will you get there faster and in better shape if you let others help you? 100%
If you’re reading this right now, it’s likely that you’re trying to make progress of your own around time management, productivity, stress reduction or all 3. And I want you to know that you don’t have to go it alone either.
I’m currently enrolling for my new program, “Time Well Spent: Time Management for Real People” and you can learn more or enroll HERE.
I’d be honored to help you get to where you want to go.
