A scout is helpful. As scouts we serve our country as well as the community we live in. We develop the habit of helpfulness to where it becomes second nature. When you see a need you step right in and help. Helping others becomes instinctual.
What happens when you are the one that needs help?
My personal response 90% of the time when someone offers help to me is "No, it's ok I've got it" because I have internalized receiving help as a sign of weakness and incompetence. If I can't manage to do this by myself there must be something wrong with me. I have personally failed somehow.
Let me tell you how wrong I am.
After my spinal surgery I have found myself asking for help more in the last 8 weeks then I have in my 43 years of existence. There is a breadth and depth to the help I have asked for to which I never thought was possible. I drop medication on the floor I ask for help to pick it up so that Letty and Sprinkles don't eat it. At the grocery store I have asked complete strangers if they are able to help me get items off low shelves. I have asked family and friends to help out with household duties. Professionally I'm asking my clients for patience as a slowly get back into the groove of working. After having major surgery I don't have the physical endurance or capabilities I had prior to surgery. Here at scouts I ask for Adult Scouters to help cover my responsibilities of mentoring, Scoutmaster minutes, camping, etc. In every part of my life and in my day I am asking for help.
It's not a sign of weakness to realize you need help. It is brave, to be vulnerable, to open yourself up to receive help. It's brave to say I can't do this all by myself.
Receiving help allows you to stay physically strong and mentally awake. You help yourself by asking someone to help you carry a heavy load rather than injuring your body. You preserve your mental energy by asking for help when you get stuck on a math problem.
The next time you find yourself getting struggling to carry something heavy, getting frustrated at homework, infuriated trying to tie a knot. Be BRAVE! Ask for help. You're not in this life alone. Look to the left, look to the right and look across the room, you have people in your life that are here to help you and support you in this life's journey.
A scout is helpful.
A scout is brave.