You've Gathered the Courage to Ask for Help
Now, How Do You Accept Help Graciously?
If you really want to Stop Settling for good enough and Start Living the fulfilling life you were meant to live, you are going to need help. End of story. It doesn’t mean you’re weak; it just means that you’re human. We all need help.
So, let’s assume that you already know this and are good at asking for help. That’s great! But, how good are you at accepting help graciously?
Learning to accept help graciously is really the key to asking for help in the first place. When you know how to accept help graciously, you won’t feel guilty or ashamed to ask for help, which means you’ll be more likely to ask for help the next time you need it.
How do you accept help graciously? Let’s look at three habits to get you started.
Three Habits That Will Allow You to Accept Help Graciously
- Sincerely thank your helper. And leave it at that. You don’t need to overexplain why you needed the help. You don’t need to apologize for inconveniencing your helper. You don’t even need to thank them profusely. All this does is fuel the guilt you feel about asking for help. People like to help other people. It makes us feel good. And if your helper knows their help was sincerely appreciated, that’s all they need.
- Don’t take advantage of your helper. First, ask yourself if you really need help or if you’re just being lazy or avoiding something you don’t want to do. Next, Deliberately Think about who you are going to ask for help. Who’s best equipped mentally, physically, or emotionally to help you. For example, we all know people who will drop whatever they are doing to help someone else, to their own detriment. These people are probably not emotionally equipped to help you, and asking them for help could mean that you are taking advantage of them. And, in any case, only take as much help as you need.
Keep scrolling to find the 3rd habit.
Accepting Help
Habit #3
#3 – Accept Your Helper’s Terms. This one came to mind a few days ago when my daughter, Emma, asked me to help her with her math homework. I said, “Sure, but we need to start by 7:00. I’m not going to be doing math homework at 9:00 at night.” To which she called me mean. (She’s 11 and thinks everything I do is mean.) I explained to her that when you ask people for help, you have to accept their terms; the way they are willing to help you. I was more than happy to help her with her homework; we just needed to start before 7:00. No big deal. The point is, when you are the one asking for help, you don’t get to decide how that help will be delivered.
Need to figure out who you can ask for help, read: 3 People Who Will Help You Become Your Best Self
If you want to learn about developing healthy relationships, ones in which both people help each other, read: How to Be Interdependent: My Journey Continues
If you have a hard time asking for help, you might benefit from reading: The Simplest Way to Conquer Your Greatest Enemy
Click here for more posts with a “life-changing habits” theme.
If you’re ready to Stop Settling & Start Living! check out our home page to learn more about what The Expectation Gaps has to offer.
And until next time . . . have an ACCEPTING day!
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