The Courage to Ask and Receive
“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!” ~ Maya Angelou
We are social beings. We depend on our tribes for growth, support, and community. Having the courage to ask and receive is having the courage to admit that you cannot go it alone.
Yes, there’s a lot you can do on your own, must do on your own, and there’s a WHOLE lot you need help for.
Are you brave enough to ask for the help you need?
Before we get around to you making the ask, let’s explore a few things:
Asking does not make you weak.
As women, we have Superwoman Syndrome: We think we should be able to do anything, and everything asked of us. We juggle tasks, spin plates in the air, and do our best not to break a sweat just to prove how capable we are.
Let me ask you this: How’s that working out for ya? Does it feel good? Do you enjoy it? Are you truly fulfilled?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
We harbor this fear that asking for help makes us weak and diminishes our capabilities. Nothing could be further from the truth! We show our strength when we ask for help because we know our limits and the consequences of pushing ourselves too hard.
Being brave enough to ask for help is an act of self-respect−you give yourself the same considerations you’d give a sister or girlfriend who came to you for help. If you’d gladly chip in for another, why won’t you let someone else give that gift to you.
Asking doesn’t make you irresponsible.
Have you ever felt like you’d do something for sure if it really mattered to you? There’s some truth to that, but it’s not the whole story. When something really matters to you, you do what it takes to make it happen, and that includes asking for help. Just like you don’t expect anyone to pull off a huge launch all on their own, you can’t expect to pull off similar business feats without a team or coach supporting you.
Recognizing the areas that need support makes you responsible and practical, which is how you need to be to nail any major goals in your life and business. Instead of feeling you’re offloading all your work on others, recognize that you’re responsible enough to cover your bases and get the support you need to surge forward.
Asking doesn’t mean you’re a failure.
Ladies, hear me when I say this: You are NOT a failure if you ask for help! We have this false sense of entrepreneurs going it on their own no matter what, and it’s simply not true. Even solopreneurs call in outside support when their plates get too full, and it doesn’t make them failures.
Consider Olympic athletes: they all have coaches and trainers to bring out the best in them. The quality of support they get determines how far they go, and nobody looks down on them for needing or taking that support. In fact, we all expect them to have a team cheering them on and challenging them to deliver their best day after day after day. Can’t you see that running a business is the exact same thing?
So go ahead and ask for the help you need. It shows us that you’re aware of how far you can go on your own, and you desire to go much farther with external support. When you free yourself to make the ask, you free yourself to vault over your limitations and deliver stellar work.
OK, so asking is a beautiful thing. How about receiving?
Receiving is beautiful too. Whether it’s a compliment, some form of support, or an exquisite care package, receiving is an act of grace. Many of us love to give because it feels good, but surprisingly, we turn down offers from others so we can look like Superwoman or “not put them out.”
Oh honey, PLEASE let other people give to you! Let them bless you with their love, their expertise, and their care. Allow yourself to receive the gifts that come your way and enjoy them! You are a brilliant, beautiful being, and you are worthy of everything that comes your way.
Do you hear me? You are WORTHY of every gift that comes your way. Even when it feels too big, too much, too intense, take a big breath and expand to meet it! You are big enough, vast enough, to receive every gift and opportunity the Universe beams to you.
Now, I’m not saying you must say yes to everything. I’m just inviting you to stay open to receiving the help you need to move you forward. Sometimes you’ll ask for it, sometimes it’ll fall into your lap, but it won’t mean anything unless you receive it, accept it, let it wash over your Soul and water your parched places. This courage to receive what you’ve asked for expands your spirit and lifts you up; dare to taste it.
Like I said, receiving is an act of grace. You allow yourself give others the pleasure of giving to you and serving you, just like you give to and serve the recipients of your attention and energy. When you open yourself to receive, you free yourself to be more, do more, and serve more through your life and business. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?
The courage to ask and receive is the courage to be vulnerable, real, and human. You recognize that every great enterprise takes many minds, and you boldly make the first move to get the support you need.
You’re free to ask, and you’re free to receive. You realize your strength, responsibility, and practicality in asking, and you discover grace in receiving. You move beyond the misguided notion of trying to be Superwoman, and you explore just how far you can go with the right team behind you.
The courage to ask and receive, then, is the courage to go beyond what’s possible on your own and dive into what’s possible with a cadre of cheerleaders and teachers behind you. This is how you discover your best work, stay on the cutting edge of your capabilities, and feel deeply fulfilled in the things you do.
Keep in mind that when you ask for what you want, need, and desire, some will say yes, and some will say no. That has nothing to do with you. You are worthy and deserving of your desires.
Give it a try!
