Everyone’s got one – that little voice that is often an early warning of danger ahead, yet sometimes it’s a negative voice.  A voice that is always doubting, questioning and causing strife.

Your little voice could be helping you or tripping you up – what’s your little voice doing for you today?

4.  Support.  How is your to-do’s list?  Pretty long?  Do you feel overwhelmed and unappreciated?  Can you just not get out of your own way sometimes?  Are you happy?  Do you have fun?  Most importantly, have you asked for help?

Each of us needs help, yet very few of us are good at asking for it.  You want to do it yourself.  You don’t want to bother or inconvenience others.  You worry about what people might think.  The result is you fall deeper into the quagmire.  You become exhausted and resentful, however you and you alone are responsible for getting to this place.

Stop with your denials, exclaims and pointing fingers at family, kids, duty, whatever…I’m not buying it.  In your mind you may have this idea that if you ask for help, it’s a sign of weakness or failure – wrong.  I see it as a sign of strength.  (Now I’m not talking about going overboard in this direction as well – balance.)  It’s the development of discernment – what is mine to fix and what is not. 

Support comes in many forms – spouses, friends, life coaching, support groups, books, therapists, online, religion…It is all around you, so there are no excuses of access.  You may choose to see them as for somebody else, but all that opinion really achieves is keeping you down.

Hence, back to you, do you need support?  And whom could you ask today to help?

One of my favorite stories is of the man who fell into the ocean and prayed to be saved…Along came a log, but he didn’t grab it because he was sure God would rescue him…Soon a floating, discarded cooler passed by, but he let it pass as God was going to save him…Then a partially inflated tubing tire appeared, but he still let it pass because God was going to save him.  It was about this time, he drowned.

 At the pearly gates, Peter inquired, “Why didn’t you take the help that was offered?”

 Incredulously the man said, “What help?  I prayed and prayed, assured God would save me and here I am.  No boat, nothing.”

 Peter smiled and said, “Did you not see the log?  The cooler?  The tire?”

 Moral: help comes in many forms – be open, be flexible, be ready.  

Several years ago I was chatting with a couple EMT guys and they told me of the phenomenon of “suicide season” – beginning Halloween and running through Valentine’s Day.  This idea has never left me and now Halloween has become a reminder for self-care as I head into the Holidays.  Listen and discover tools to help you navigate the coming holidays as your most empowered self.