Mayday!
Asking for Help in Times of Need
By M. Nora Klaver (Berrett-Koehler,$15.95 paper)
The Chicago author believes our nation has gone overboard with its celebration of independence. Here is the anti-self-help book, one that urges readers to seek out assistance.
1. “Asking for help is a universally dreaded endeavor. We often choose instead to continue on alone, struggling valiantly and often unnecessarily with day-to-day burdens or even with crises, convinced that asking for help would exact an emotional price too high to bear.”
2. Our desire for control makes our lives overly complicated. Cooperation eases struggles in every aspect of life.
3. The difference between needs and wants must be understood. “A need is something that you have to have. A want is something that you’d like to have. The definitions are simple to understand but not always so simple to apply.”
4. Selecting the right person to ask for help is a challenge itself. Write a list of potential helpmates, including people who might not immediately strike you as the best for support. Look outside your circle of friends.
5. The sentiment is simple (if counterintuitive): Ask for help; it will make you stronger.
