Our members' stories

Do you have the courage to put your pride aside to ask for help or to risk feeling foolish?

27 June 2010

Do you have the courage to ask for help?

"Life shrinks or expands according to your courage" Anais Nin

Here's an example of how the above quote works from a recent incident in my life: last month I planned to go to the ZIWA AGM. Three people I knew personally were standing for election and I wanted to help vote them in. It's 50 minutes into the city, whether I drive the whole way or only half way where parking is easier. Normally this decision gets made spontaneously depending on whether I arrive in time for the train or not.
When I got to the station I discovered I'd left my wallet at home and so was faced with a decision: do I go home and catch up with admin or do I drive in anyway and borrow money from someone to pay for lunch and get my car out of the Bar au Lac parking garage at the end of the day.
I was tempted to turn my car around and go home but I decided to take the risk, and go anyway. The first two people I spotted at the door were Christine and Frances so they were the ones I had to ask to rescue me. It was highly embarrassing but I survived without my ego being too bruised. It seemed rather fitting that the old guard helped me vote in the new.
The event was a fantastic gathering of like-minded spirits; powerful women from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. I met several new friends and reconnected with others.

So what has this to do with you?

I don't know about you but I'm not very good at asking for favours. Sometimes we get so attached to our own independence we don't realise the gift we give to others when we are forced to swallow our pride and reach out. Actually, vulnerability is the glue that bonds people and holds society together. The problem is, we want it to be other people's vulnerability, not our own.

So, my questions to you today:

-  Are you making your world smaller by not reaching out?
-  Do you have the courage to put your ego aside in order to reach out to others?
-  and Do you have the courage to make mistakes? To start over or be a beginner?

Action steps you can take right now:

Each time you're about to say 'no' to an opportunity, examine your reasons. Is it because of some small fear in your heart? If so, ask the big you to take the little you by the hand and step over this pebble before it turns into a mountain. Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that make the biggest impact on our lives.







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