Week 3
ASKING FOR HELP
Last Friday Friends was all about being kind and helping others from a distance. Today we are flipping things around, and looking at how you can ask for help. Whilst there is so much discussion on things you can do to help, it is also important that you feel able to ask for help when you need it. After all, we are all in this together!
Asking for help is not often something that comes naturally. Social psychologist Heidi Grant reports that as humans, we have an evolutionary fear of being rejected by our peers and so our brains adjust our behaviour to avoid it. So in many respects, asking for help has been linked to triggering this very evolutionary fear.
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.”
– Barack Obama
1.
Today’s challenge is to simply create a list of people whom you could ask for help when needed – write the names of friends, family, neighbours, community support groups, etc. Once you have this, your list can act like a safety net of sorts – a reminder that there are always people who will be willing to help you.
5 minutes
2.
Have a read of this extract, which brilliantly summarises why we should never fear reaching to others for help.
2 minutes
3.
For a little more on asking for help, listen to this podcast with Heidi Grant, the author of ‘Reinforcements: How to Get People to Help You’
1 hour