Getting by with a little help…

I’m a lucky girl.

I’ve been pretty stressed over the last few months. Personal stuff has been happening around me. Business has been a bit slow. The same old demons have continued to plague me.

Finally, in an act of sheer desperation, I did something I almost never do.

I asked for help.

The asking was tentative at first and started with the people closest to me. I had a little cry on my husband’s shoulder and snuggled a bit longer with my kid. I confided in my mom and my sister.

Then I got more brazen and started calling people up.  Not because I wanted to know how they were doing (I did, and they knew that) but because I needed an ear.

Like I said, I’m a lucky girl.

I’ve gotten more support and encouragement from the people around me than I ever could have dreamed possible.

No reason to doubt.

I had no reason to doubt that I could ask for help and get it.  Certainly plenty of people have helped me here and there along the way.

But I’m an INFJ and, true to type, I’m much more likely to relate to you on your terms, making you and your victories or problems the center of the conversation.

Suddenly I realized that asking had become a habit.  I asked my athletic friends for support in getting my fat you-know-what on the elliptical trainer. I asked my smarty-pants entrepreneurial friends for advice on getting new business. I asked my extroverted friends for help dealing with difficult people.

And you know what?  I’ve never felt better.

Facepalm.

I can’t help but think that, all this time, I’ve been cheating myself out of a resource that was right in front of me, ready to be tapped.

So thank you.  Thank you to all those people who’ve lent me their strength, ideas and passion when I needed it.  And thanks to those of you who will.

And when you need a shoulder or an ear, think of me.