I have the great opportunity to work with a team of fabulous people that I love to help, anyway I can. This group of people was integral in helping me learn a very important lesson about asking for help. Together, we participated in an escape room session in which we failed, because we didn't ask for a hint when we needed it.
I was adamant during the session that we could do it, without help, and yet in the end I left feeling like a failure. In my mind, asking for help was an indication of weakness, and weakness is not good. However, in the 'debrief' on the way home, I realized that had we asked for help we probably would have been successful, and would have felt pretty darn good about ourselves.
That was an eye opening lesson for me. In the past I have rarely asked for help. It was a personality flaw of mine, that goes along with my stubbornness, perfectionism, and procrastination... While these traits have helped me to strive to always do my best, in my own time, they are often traits that have caused my relationships (both coaching and personal) to fail to flourish like they could.
More and more I am learning about the power in asking for and receiving help from others. I have seen my relationships grow and flourish through this very simple, genuine act. While it often makes me feel vulnerable to ask, the feeling of gratitude and overall happiness when help is given far outweighs the vulnerability.
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