6 ways to accept help when it’s uncomfortable
For many of us, accepting help can be uncomfortable. For those with low self-esteem, it can be even more so. But there is no shame in asking for help and accepting it. Giving and receiving help is part of life and is not based on worthiness.
Here are some tips to help you be more accepting of help from others.
1. Allow yourself to be vulnerable.
2. Examine your beliefs on receiving.
3. Give others an opportunity to give.
4. Pay it forward instead of returning it.
5. Feel the love and be grateful.
6. Practice accepting help everywhere.
1. Allow yourself to be vulnerable.
To accept help, you have to let go of control and be vulnerable. For some, that may be the hardest hurdle to overcome but it is important in order to let others step in and help.
2. Examine your beliefs on receiving.
If you’re having difficulty others take control, examine some of the reasons this may be. Being vulnerable is not a weakness and neither is asking for help.
- What’s stopping you from accepting help from others?
- Do you feel that you don’t deserve to receive their compliment or love? Why do you feel that way?
- What is your relationship with money? Do you have a tendency to spend all the money you have received?
3. Give others an opportunity to give.
Receiving is not only about you. It’s also about the giver. Imagine a well-intention, loving person giving you something and you reject their gifts. How would that make them feel? Unappreciated? Awkward? Embarrassed? Open yourself up and let others help and give you this most precious gift.
4. Pay it forward instead of returning it.
Sometimes when people aren’t comfortable with receiving, they would return the love, the compliment, or the gifts in another form immediately. For example, when someone gives them a gift, they feel obliged to find something to give back.
When it’s your time to receive, it’s important for you to embrace the moment. Don’t be in a hurry to give back to the other person. You are just deflecting their love back to them. It’s like: “I can’t receive your love. Here have it back.” Then what you give them, would not be authentic.
5. Feel the love and be grateful.
To receive is such a beautiful experience. Start a journal of gratitude to write down how thankful you are to have someone in your life that cares for you and gives you support when you most need it. Unfortunately many in this world aren’t as fortunate.
6. Practice accepting help everywhere.
You don’t have to wait for someone to give you help to practice receiving. Whenever you need help, just ask for it. Don’t worry about being rejected. Give others an opportunity to help you. If they aren’t the one, move on to the next.
