Daily Quote: “He who is afraid of asking is ashamed of learning.” Danish Proverb.
Asking somebody for help is the easiest way of ensuring that you will be able to attain your goals. Yet most people find it extremely difficult to do this. It seems that people don’t want to look helpless or in need of assistance.
But mostly people hate to ask for help because they think they are going to get rejected. People are frightened that people will turn around and refuse to help them. So people don’t ask. They would rather not have help than stand a miniscule chance of having their request refused.
It means that people are rejecting themselves before other people have any chance of rejecting them. It’s a safe way to not set oneself up for failure.
Asking for something is not just difficult when asking for help or tapping into somebody else’s knowledge base. It extends into asking for a job, an increase in salary, help with baby sitting, time off, more leave, or even as simple as getting directions.
Personal coaches and mentors provide a service to you to help with your way forward. In many cases they are able to help with some of your tasks. A coach can help you find your confidence and motivate you to ask for a job or increase in salary.
But they can only help with motivation and helping you take away the stumbling blocks you set yourself. There are many instances where the help of a coach is not enough.
They are not the right people to ask for help when you need information on a topic, help with advice on how to build your career and what qualifications you might need. There are many people that you can ask for help who have the knowledge that you need to tap into.
When you map out your plan of action in order to achieve your goal, do you automatically enter the names and titles of people whose help you might need along the way? Or does it not occur to you that you could ask for help?
Is it easier to have somebody to turn to for a quick question or to sit on the internet for hours trying to find the answer? One would think the answer to this is fairly straight forward. It’s easier to ask somebody. Yet we don’t. We sit online for hours trying get the information that somebody may have at their finger tips.
Make your list of experts to whom you have access to. Consult with friends and family to find out the right people you might need when working towards your goal. Do no hesitate to request information from organisations and authorities.
In many cases some organisations are obliged to give you the information you need. There are experts who are there to help the public make informed decisions. Visit the career councilor or University student affairs department to find out what your options are.
Talk to people and ask for help. Your progress towards your goal will be much quicker and less painful if you do.
