How have you gotten to where you are in your life?
What has been instrumental in helping you move forward, especially when life has tossed you around?
My guess is that support has played a huge role. It has for me.
Whereas support can come in a variety of forms, rarely do we achieve what we want most without it.
Yet, we often dismiss support and push it away.
We have to prove that we can do it on our own.
We need others to see that we’re smart, strong, independent, and capable.
Thus, we often reject support with, “No, I’m fine. I’ve got it,” when really we don’t.
It’s as if we’re afraid to show any sign of weakness or need.
So we trade support for struggling…even suffering.
Pain is not a sign of weakness, but bearing it alone is a choice to grow weak.
My husband and I were invited to attend a very special community fund raising event this weekend.
My primitive brain didn’t want to go.
It wanted me to stay home safely tucked away.
My brain made up all kinds of stories as to why staying home was the better choice.
Yet once there, I felt the warm vibration of compassionate support.
Hundreds of people gathered to share support.
What was accomplished could not have been achieved alone in isolation.
We don’t heal in isolation, but in community.
Later, I reflected on how I’ve resisted support in my life, especially when I was struggling emotionally.
Pride, fear, and shame isolated me from support.
I thought I could fix myself and solve my problems alone.
I believed I had to prove that I was smart, strong, and capable.
I was wrong and suffered many years because of how I perceived support.
Changing my perception meant I had to think differently.
I had to get over myself, release resistance, and admit, “I can’t do this alone.”
I had to dismantle the stories and excuses in my mind.
I had to trust, believe, and accept.
Asking for support was the best choice I’ve ever made for my body, my life, and me.
The discomfort of reaching out was far less than the agony of suffering alone in isolation.
Support saved my life.
It got me to where I am today.
Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.
So if you’re out there struggling and suffering, convinced that you can do it alone, I challenge you to reflect deeply on your choice.
Is doing it alone working?
Are you achieving what you want on your own?
Have you backed yourself into the corner of isolation?
Are excuses and stories preventing you from reaching out for support?
What’s worse, the pain of hiding or the discomfort of receiving support?
Either way, you’re going to feel uncomfortable.
I hope you reach out.
What you want most hopes you reach out for support too.
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