When We Ask for Help: Why It's Not Bad, and How to Ask

Sometimes we have to ask for help. We lose our job, we fall to the throes of addiction, or we just run out of money to support ourselves and maybe our family. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. This essay will tell you why; provide a way of asking for help; and explore the reasons many of us avoid asking for help.

Sometimes asking for help can be simpler than it sounds. We have trouble with a homework assignment in school, and we ask a teacher or classmate to help us with it. This is always better than copying; by copying we rob ourselves of learning and put ourselves in a bad situation. We could go down a different road and ask for help at work. It takes a person with pride to ask for any help, but most importantly at a job. If it will take us hours to figure out the problem, we can save ourselves a lot of time by going the short route and asking someone with more experience.

When we ask for help we are not showing weakness. Many people have a problem in asking for any help. It does take some pride to do it. We want to be free from leaning on others. That is the problem: we think we can solve it ourselves, so why save time by showing we lack the intelligence? The reason is clear. We save ourselves grief. We also make conversation, and show we are not above asking questions. The ego is in the way. Let it go.

To ask for help we should never be sarcastic or critique ourselves. "I am too stupid to do this" is something that should never come out of our mouth. We are just asking a question. We should phrase it like we were talking to our boss or teacher. "I am struggling with this. Can you help me?" That is the perfect line. It could apply to money. Money is something many loath giving or asking for. We treat them like we would want to be treated. Tell them when we will be able to pay the money back, ask if that's ok, and move on. Living in our mistakes will do nothing for us. Asking for help is crucial.

So, while sitting at the school desk (or work desk) we find ourselves daydreaming, and we completely forget what the project called for us to do. We ask someone else in just the right manner. We ask for help because it will save us time, and time is important to the whole world.