Asking for help is often taken as a sign of weakness. Most people would tell you to exhaust all measures before you make yourself vulnerable in front of others. And yes, when you tell others you could do with their helping hand, it’s taken as a sign of vulnerability.
Unfortunately, that is a negative mindset which stops us from acquiring many benefits. When we ask others for help, many advantages come our way. The most important of those rewards are as follows.
1. It connects you with others
Human beings are social beings. Just like a phone needs to get on the phone charger station to get back to life, we need to socialize with others to live a happy life. Conversely, when we don’t ask for help and instead just try to do things on our own, we’re missing out on an opportunity to build connections.
2. It builds the courage to accept rejection
In the worst-case scenario, you will hear a ‘No’ to your call for help, but that doesn’t mean you should feel awkward or uncomfortable. It simply means the other person has some other work at hand (as we all do) and is unable to offer help at the minute. You shouldn’t take their ‘No’ as a personal rejection. Instead, treat it as an experience using which you can better manage rejections in life.
3. It increases your productivity
If you choose to accept support from someone with higher skills, the person will bring along their own knowledge and skills. They might teach you something new and provide you with information you might previously not be privy to.
Need examples to understand this point? Remember the last time your coworker helped you when you asked them to guide you about an office file? Or when you asked a stranger about directions? Or when you asked your partner to put your phone on the charging station for phones?
All these examples make it clear that once you ask others for help, your productivity soars.
4. It helps develop a mature mindset
Taking into account that you need help, and asking for it, indicates to you and those around you that asking for help is allowed, constructive and totally normal. This stimulates your mind with perks of curiosity, creativity, open-mindedness and a desire to learn more and achieve more.
5. It makes you happy
Think about the last time you asked for help. Did you feel thankful? Of course. And with research showing that people who regularly practice gratitude are prone to experience more happiness and less anxiety, asking others for help, by extension, lets you achieve all these benefits.