We all often struggle to ask for help. It’s common to think that if we can’t ask for help, it’s a sign of weakness. But asking for help isn’t a weakness. It’s a strength. In this episode, I’m discussing what happens when we become aware that we need help and then ask for help.

 

How to Ask for Help

1. Admit that you need help
2. Be vulnerable enough to ask someone for help
3. Accept the kindness offered

 

Get Vulnerable and Ask for Help

It’s difficult to ask for help. Putting yourself out there, admitting what you feel are weaknesses, and asking for help is such a vulnerable thing to do. But there is actually so much power in admitting you need a helping hand.

If you’re not sure where you might need to ask for help, I will encourage you to look for those areas of your life that feel a bit sticky. That feels difficult to you. On a day-to-day basis, where are the specific areas you can ask for a little bit more help? These are the areas where you could reach out and ask for help.

Asking for help is not comfortable. But you have to ask yourself if you want to keep going the way you are, or whether you want to put the work in and change it. This often means asking for help.

 

What Happens When You Ask for Help

When you ask someone else for help, you’re not only helping yourself. You’re helping show other people that it’s okay to be vulnerable. That it’s okay to open up and ask for help.

In a way, it’s giving the other person permission to be vulnerable. Asking someone for help lets them know that they can ask you for help if they need it.  

Finally, I talk about how setting boundaries and saying how you would like others to treat you is also a way to ask for help. Ask people to treat you how you prefer to be treated.

What feels uncomfortable when you ask for help? What’s stopping you from doing it? If you are able to do it, how would your life be different? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.

 

In This Episode 

• Why so many people have difficulty asking for help [1:45]
• The importance of identifying what areas you need to ask for help [8:30]
• How asking for help helps other people, too [12:30]
• What happens when you ask for help [23:30]
• Why you need to decide how you will allow people to treat you [25:00]

 

Quotes

“What’s the fear of asking for help? The fear of asking for help is admitting that you can’t do it all and then putting yourself out there. You have to be vulnerable to ask for help.” [5:35]

“When you’re asking for help, you’re actually helping somebody, too.” [12:42]

“Asking for help and having the vulnerability to say, ‘hey listen, we want this to go differently. We need help.’ It’s amazing. It’s not comfortable. It’s not comfortable evaluating what we’re constantly doing and putting our ego aside to say, ‘this isn’t working. How can we come together?’ It is not comfortable because we have to put it out there and say, ‘something’s off here. Do we want to keep going on this way, or do we want to put the work in and change it?” [19:04]

“If we can think about help less about ‘I can’t do this on my own’ and instead, ‘wow, look at the opportunity that I have to better myself more so I can create more connection, adventure, freedom, and peace, all those things that I want in my life. I’m taking advantage of it.’” [21:53]

“As we are discovering how we want to be treated, we need to ask for help in discovering that.” [26:51]

 

Resources

31 Days of FIT.  Learn more HERE.

Muscle Maintenance During Fat Loss. Waitlist HERE.

Fit Woman Collective™. Learn more HERE.

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*** Ali Novitsky MD, this podcast, and podcast write-up are NOT providing medical advice ***

 

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