Its OK to Ask for Help

I tend to do things on my own. If I don’t already know how to do something, I do what I can to learn and teach my self to do it. Most have that drive in them to some degree. I am personally a stubborn individual and I can usually learn how to do something for myself. But a large part of learning is know when to ask for help. And, it’s ok to ask for help. 

It was a cold and snowy Friday evening in January. It had been a stressful week and I needed to get a way from everything. Going to the mountains the next morning for a hike in the snow sounded wonderful. It would give me the opportunity to clear my head of all the clutter and allow me to reset and think about the things troubling me. I knew all the roads in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park were closed, based on their twitter updates, due to weather. I found another hike, one I hadn’t done before, located in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. It was a loop just over 2 miles atop Black Mountain. From what I read, the views were spectacular and the hike was fun and not too strenuous  (I’m not as in shape as I once was.) 

The next morning, I awoke at 7am, got dressed, and left for the hike. There wasn’t much snow in the Knoxville area, but I knew there would be a little more in the Cumberland Plateau. After stopping to get coffee and a bacon and cheese McGriddle, I hit the read for Black Mountain. I was very excited to spend the morning and afternoon in solitude, hiking, looking out over the plateau. I was honestly looking forward to helping myself through the issues and conflicts in my head and heart. 

It’s OK to ask for help

Asking for help does not show weakness. It actually shows humility and maturity. We cannot do everything on our own (even though we try), and help is needed. We all have different skills and strengths, that is the way God made us. Asking for help the strengths in others. It acknowledges that we are not perfect, but by asking for help, it shows we are not prideful either. 

It’s OK not to have the answer

I always want to be right. I always want to be able to fix it. But reality is, I am not always right and will not always be able to fix it. When we ask for help from others, we have the opportunity to learn from them. We get to grow in an area we are weak in so that in the future, we are able to aid others as we received that same aid.

It’s OK to make mistakes

Mistakes are a part of life. We will always make them, but it is what we do once we make them that defines us. Mistakes can be the product of poor choices. If we learn from our mistakes, then we are less likely to repeat them. We learn via self-reflection. It is imperative that we look back at situations, see where we went wrong, and learn how too correct for future endeavors. 

It’s OK to fail

“Failure is not an option!” Ive told myself this far too many times. We see failure as a weakness, when in fact, it is just a stepping stone to success. When asked by a reporter how it felt to fail 1,000 times, Thomas Edison replied “I did’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” Failure in inevitable. However, if we see it as a step forward to a solution, rather than not achieving our goal, then we grow towards success from our misfortune. 

To Be Continued…