When You Can't Do It Alone...

The power of gratitude is a wonderful thing...when we use it regularly, we find it enriches our lives by helping us deeply appreciate the world around us. As an additional bonus, we get more wonderful things coming into our lives as we practice gratitude, by virtue of the Law of Attraction: what we focus on truly does expand.

This week I have a huge debt of gratitude to speak of, and also some lessons learned.

I have been working on a project, and although I know my way around a computer and basic programming, I found myself in a muddle with what should have been a simple five minute installation of software.

After trying to trace and fix my mistake/s for upwards of 11 hours, I finally asked for help. I was disappointed but not surprised to get little in the way of help from my service provider. So, I racked my brain and thought 'Who could I ask for help with this?...' The two people who came to mind are, in my opinion, two of the most stellar bloggers and personal development personalities on the web. I felt this before now, but my experience these past couple of days just reinforces the high esteem in which I hold these two gentlemen. Without further adieu, my most heartfelt thanks goes to:

• Gleb Reys of PersonalDevelopment.ie: Gleb is the definition of a stand-up guy, and puts his heart and soul into his work. From what I know of him, he is consistently adding to his knowledge, and not only shares what he knows but is also eager to learn from others and have everyone benefit from this shared knowledge. He runs a great forum as well, and is always quick with helpful comments and valuable insights.
  
  When I asked Gleb for help - reluctantly - he jumped in with two feet and brought his considerable talent to bear in fixing my issues. His willingness to help and the friendliness with which he offered it are deeply appreciated, and just cement my feeling that sometimes the people who mean the most to us can be virtual friends!
  
  
• Aaron Potts of Today is That Day: I am not at all surprised that Aaron was willing to help me, as he has always come across as an absolutely exceptional person in my dealings with him. He is always friendly, positive and gracious. Aaron jumped in with two feet as well, and I am deeply grateful.
  
  Although Aaron is a very busy man, he took the time to look over my work and make some very detailed suggestions, along with some encouraging words - typical Aaron! It is no wonder his recent launch of PersonalDevelopmentPartners - Aaron's creation - is such a roaring success.
  

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my friends. It is not only your help I appreciate, it is your willingness to offer it.

Now to the lessons, from which we can all learn. What would be the point of a struggle if I/we did not learn from it?...

• You can't do everything, and you don't know everything: Sometimes, maybe like you, I feel I have to be all things to all people. I try to do everything myself, and I rarely ask for help. I like to figure things out, if not for the satisfaction, then for the knowledge I will gain which will aid me the next time I face a similar situation.
  
  However, there are times when the more intelligent decision is to ASK for help; ask someone who has expertise in the area you are having trouble with. If we each tried to learn everything from scratch rather than helping each other, we'd all be very slow at everything - nothing would ever get done!
  
  The truth is, I don't like looking stupid, and that is one reason I hesitate to ask for help. Secondly, I don't like to bother people, so I go it alone. Third, perhaps I feel I don't have any way of paying back the favor, and maybe they won't want to help me.
  
  
• We are a community: In the personal development world, many of us have great affection, or at least admiration, for each other. We help each other by linking to those we admire, and we know that by participating in our community we all benefit and grow. Why, then, would I be so obstinate about reaching out for help? It should not have taken me 11+ hours to do so...I wasted my own time by not feeling worthy of help. Yet, had the tables been turned, I would have been more than happy to help another member of our community. It would have been my pleasure to help someone who was struggling with something that would take me only a few minutes to fix. Not for a moment would I think 'hmmm, what could I get from this in return?...' Have faith in people, and in yourself.
  
  
• Tools for frustration: When you are experiencing any kind of uncomfortable emotion - frustration, anger, upheaval - the way you talk to yourself will make a fundamental difference in how you handle things (or don't!). NEVER tell yourself it will never work out, or you cannot figure it out, or maybe you should never have done xyz in the first place. ALWAYS keep yourself positive by telling yourself that you are intelligent and resourceful; there is always a way; you know you will learn what you need to in order to make things right. In fact, all circumstances are learning processes, and even more fundamentally, creation processes. If you decide you are flexible, patient and resourceful, not only will you find ways to deal with your current situation, you will also reinforce these traits within yourself for your future benefit. You are who you SAY you are! When you need to, walk away and get your mind on something else for a while; sometimes, as Aaron so rightly reminded me, a little exercise or perspective is all we need to help us see the answers that are eluding us.
  

My thanks once again, and my you prosper in all ways and enjoy ever-increasing wisdom and happiness as you forge your path in life.

When You Can't Do It Alone...