Asking for help

When I first started working full time, like most graduates, I was super keen to impress and wanted to show my bosses how fabulous/ capable/ professional I was. I absorbed as much information as I could, took on extra tasks, always offered my assistance, and was rewarded with pay rises and promotions. But when it came to the point when I was working two people's jobs and putting in 12 hours per day, I started to question what I was doing.

To cut a long story short, the lesson I've since leaned is there's nothing wrong with asking for help. It shows you're human! You can't possibly know eveything, so use the resorces you have around you. And you don't have to do everyone else's job, just your own. Asking questions doesn't mean you're dumb, it shows you're interested and want to learn all you can. Asking for help shows initiative, not defeat.

And work is not the only area where this applies. Many times in life we can become so bogged down with problems and worries but we don't want to "bother" our friends and family, and therefore are taking on too much. The irony is that these people are your support network - they want to be there for you in your time of need. In fact, they feel special and important when you ask them for help... or to simply listen to your worries.

So if you need some help, don't be embarrassed to ask : )

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." Leo Buscaglia

Notes on Glossy Paper