Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 41: Asking for Help is Mandatory (Family)

Asking for Help is Mandatory by Rick White, President 180BIZ

Today, I want to talk about something that I think that's important.  I was brought up to believe it's better to give than to receive, that it's better to be on the giving end and the receiving end. There is a beauty to giving. It feels good. It makes me feel important and I really do want to help other people. It feels amazing when I can give and help and serve, but it can be isolating at the same time. Please understand that this is something I struggle with as well. It isolates you when all you do is give. It isolates you because it becomes a part of your identity. It becomes who you are. Being a giver is fantastic, but you must be able to ask for help. It's okay to ask for help.

In fact, I'm going to tell you that asking for help is mandatory. Let me explain why I think it's mandatory. It makes you authentic when you ask for help; it humanizes you. Sometimes people look at us like we're up on a pedestal. But I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else does. It just makes you more human. It makes you more authentic. It connects you. It makes you approachable when people realize that you too need help; that you need other people. Sometimes I think this is such a great connection for people because it also makes you aware that you're not alone. Sometimes we feel so isolated. 

Honestly as a giver on steroids, sometimes I feel like nobody seems to care about me. But it's not them. It's me doing that. It's me putting a wall up. I only allow stuff out and not in. But you're not alone. When you ask for help, you're letting others care for you. You're letting others show that they love you and that is such a hard thing to do. Do you know what it does?  It humbles you; it makes you realign your identity.

I have this core belief that God has us on this earth to help each other get through this world; to get through this life. Life is tough. Life is hard. Life knocks you down. That's a given. The choice is whether you get back up or not. And the reality is sometimes we're tired, sometimes we're drained, sometimes we're just filled with sorrow and we need somebody next to us to say, “I got you” and to pick you back up to hold you and to help you walk a little bit. I believe that is one of my key purposes in life is to help others.

But after this humbles you, you know what this does? It allows them to give.  It allows the other person to give. It allows the other person to feel good. It allows the other person to feel important that they're making a difference in that they're helping and serving. That is so important. They need that too.

My last thought is for years I thought that I gave and they received. I thought that it was linear.  There's this really great book called The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann and I read this book at least once a year. It is such a great life lesson book. It's a short parable book.  It’s the five laws of stratospheric success. One of the things I learned from it was that giving is not a straight line, giving is a circle. If all I do is give, I am killing the circle. I am not allowing the receiving part of it.

I want to fill my life with people that I can play catch with, if you understand what I mean by that. I want to fill my life with people who I can give, and they can receive, and they can give, and I can receive. So, my thought for today is that it's okay to ask for help. Especially right now. It's okay to ask someone. It's okay to lean on someone. It's okay for someone to give you. It’s not a handout, it’s a hand up to help you back up, to give you a hug and to say it's okay, we’ll going to get through this together.

I’ve asked for help.  It is humbling and filling at the same time. We go through our lives and feel like we're just doing our thing. We don't recognize the impact we can have on other people. We don't know it. And it's amazing when you can step up and help someone but be able to allow them to help you too.  Love them enough to let them do it for you.

I hope you have an amazing day. Enjoy and remember to recharge. Take care. God bless.