Let’s face it, no one can make it in this world alone. I don’t care who you are or how amazing you are, everyone needs someone at some time for something and that’s ok. That’s actually a good thing! We are all put on this earth with special talents that we should use to help people. Whether you can cook good food, lift heavy things, keep plants alive, make cabinets, listen really well, write something people want to read, speak in front of big groups of people, put things together quickly, play gorgeous music, sing like an angel, or manage money well, You have a Unique and Special gift that only you can share in the way you do it. I believe we are meant to use our gifts to help one another, but for that to be the case, we have to talk to people and Ask For Help (GASP).
I am the first offender in believing I can do all of the things. I really dislike asking anyone for any kind of help. I have always felt I would be putting someone out or bothering them and I hate feeling like I owe someone anything. I have gotten better this year at asking for and accepting help. I used to absolutely hate it and now I ask and accept more often. Part of the reason I started accepting help is because I really had no choice. When Jess Sr. died people just showed up at my house with food, started cleaning, taking care of my kids and doing anything else they could tell needed done. I am so thankful for that. After things calmed down and people went back to their normal lives, I was left alone with a house, 3 kids, a dog, a cat and all the life things. I quickly learned I am not superwoman and I had to ask for help when I really needed it. I do now and I am forever grateful to my village for helping me when they can. I also make an effort to help others as much as I possibly can.
Everyone needs to get over their pride, embarrassment, vulnerability or whatever else is holding you back from asking for help and just do it. I can clean a house really, really well. I cannot install a window. No one can do everything. That’s why we are all here. We need to work together, find people you like to be around that you can help and vise versa. It feels so good to get the help you need and it feels super great to be able to help someone by doing something you are good at. Win – Win!
Here’s an example of something I meant to do myself, but had to get help with….
I moved into a new house in August of this year. Some time after I moved in I got the idea I needed to change the locks because that’s what you’re “supposed to do.” I have changed deadbolts before and thought it would be easy. I was wrong. My new house’s doors are older and had holes that were way too small for the locks I bought. The face plates (or whatever they are called) stuck out too far and I didn’t know how to make them fit. I had no idea what the tools I needed were even called and I did not own them. Turns out, I needed a hole saw and a chisel. I borrowed my dad’s hole saw and still had no chisel. I tried to use it and scraped my door up. I called my dad and asked him. The hole saw was old and apparently wasn’t working correctly. Dad got new hole saws and brought them over. I didn’t even open the bag. I tried about 4 times on 2 different doors to get at least 1 lock on to no avail. Almost everyone I spoke to was very concerned for my safety and several of them offered to come put on my locks for me. I kept declining.
“No thank you, I got this.”
I did NOT have this.
Some time later, I broke down and asked a friend to come over and do my locks for me. He did and I finally have doors that lock again! (Thank you!)
Could I have figured out how to correctly use a hole saw and a chisel and put the deadbolts on my doors by myself? YES. I definitely could have, but someone with more expertise and the right tools offered to do it for me and I accepted.
Here’s an example of me choosing to do something myself AKA: Being a BadA*S…
In November, my dad got me a portable garage door opener key chain thing for my garage door. The previous owners had lost their garage door opener, so I was having to open the garage door from the button on the wall inside, pull my car out and then go back inside to close the garage door. The only catch was I had to sync the new opener with my garage door opener.
I was so excited to have this opener! It was going to save me so much trouble and annoyance daily. I showed a friend and they told me I needed to make sure it was able to sync to my garage door. Something about being on the same frequency…What? Now it was in my head that this thing might not work and it was going to be a pain to figure it out. I half-heartedly joked I may need help syncing them. I threw the opener into my purse and there it sat for 1 whole month. I guess having it not connected and still hoping it could work if I tried one day was better to me than trying and it not working.
It snowed this week more than once and was super cold. My car was outside in the driveway because I couldn’t be bothered to open and close the garage door from inside. That wasn’t fun and I had a brand new garage door opener in my purse. Tonight, I decided I didn’t need to check and see if they were compatible. I would simply try to hook it up using the instructions and it would either work or it wouldn’t.
The instructions were simple. I followed them and it didn’t work.
I followed the instructions a second time and it DID work! YAY!!!
Even being a person who does ask for help now, I still try several times before accepting it normally. I am really grateful to those who help me all the time. I believe all people were put on this earth to help one another. I especially believe I am here to help as many people as I possibly can, so please ask!
There is So Much More I could say on this subject, but it would end up more of a book than a blog.
I guess what I’m trying to say is…
GET OVER YOURSELF AND ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT!
Make the world a better place 🙂
MAKE GOOD CHOICES.
~Love & Light, Sarah
Adventures of Life, Death, Love & Light 