When you need help, do you ask for help?
Or would you keep quiet for fear of troubling your friend or family?
Or would you ask indirectly and hoping they would figure out it’s your cry for help?
This was what transpired during a video interview with Simon Sinek. He was talking to his friend and found out she had gone through a terrible time. He was unhappy that his good friend didn’t reach out to him when she was going through the challenging time. She said she did – she had asked him if he wanted to come over? But how could he tell that it was a cry for help!?
He found out through a study that it takes 8 minutes for someone who is struggling to help them get back on track. So he came out with this code for help – Do you have 8 minutes? It means, I need you.
In another video by Simon Sinek, he said: we don’t build trust by offering help, we build trust by asking for it. We avoid asking for help from our family and friends for fear of troubling them. Yet we don’t realize that we are denying them the opportunity to help you in your time of need. Just like how they were there for you, you want to be there for them as well. Friendships are two-way street. Friendships are give-and-take. Friendships require vulnerability and courage.
It is oftentimes difficult to ask for help. Sometimes, it is with good intention for not troubling others. Other times, we are embarrassed to let people know the situation we are in, especially if it is a shameful or awkward or complicated situation. However, when we don’t ask for help, we are trapped in a dire situation alone. When we feel we have no one to turn to and nowhere to go, we feel desperate, despair and hopeless, which might lead to undesirable consequences.
This is my invitation to you today – give a trusted friend or family an opportunity to help you when you need help. You don’t need to go through life alone. There is always someone who is willing to help you. Show all your trusted friends this post so that they will understand when you ask: Do you have 8 minutes?
