I’m a typical Capricorn star sign. I’m independent and stubborn to boot. I like to do stuff myself, and, I absolutely loathe the thought of relying upon others. I hate the thought of imposing on others. It’s rare for me to reach out and ask for help.

The universe has a hilarious way of pushing me out of my comfort zone when it comes to this sometimes. This semester, my daughter’s after school activities have been rescheduled, causing a clash with clinic appointments. For some families who bring their child to me, to provide assistance with learning difficulties, these appointments are difficult to reschedule for all persons involved. Everyone is working and it’s vital the child remains in class, hence, they have made special arrangements with me to work outside of clinic hours.

Under normal circumstances, because all my family and friends work, I’m in a position, whereby I work school based hours only. There are limited exceptions to this and as my daughter gets older, this gets easier to work around. That said, being a bit of a perfectionist, a bit of a control freak, I like things organised. I certainly don’t like changing appointments on clients because I have the perception that it’s unprofessional. My clients lead busy lives too, so I don’t want to be the cause of any hiccups in their life.

This week, I was stuck, and couldn’t make things work. This happens to the best of us sometimes.

I reflected on my options and asked the universe for some help. I simply asked the parents in my daughter’s sports team chat room, whether anyone could pick up my girl and take her to practice. What’s the worst that could happen – everyone says ‘no’? I had notified the client of my situation and advised ‘stay tuned, let me see what I can do’.

That initial trepidation of asking for help always seems to be the worst part of it all. Is it fear of rejection rather than not being able to juggle that brings us unstuck?

Turns out that all of the favours I’ve done others all came back at once and I immediately had a volunteer parent to collect my girl directly from school and take her to practice. Can’t begin to express my relief. And yet the volunteer parent was so humble in offering her support. She told me “it’s nothing”. For her it may feel easy to adjust her schedule and do, what she considered a small thing. For me it was huge, and enables me to continue juggling all the balls in the air.

This small gesture of kindness got me thinking.

People take great joy in helping others, myself included. Take a moment to consider next time you’re in a jam, whether you can gift someone the gift of giving to you, and helping you out of a tight spot. You simply need to ask. What’s the worst that can happen – everyone says no? People are not obliged to say yes.

Additionally, ask yourself under what circumstance you ask for help or are you stuck in the perceived fear of failure or judgement? Fear stops us doing so many things, is it stopping you?

Giving works both ways, and, provides gratitude for all involved. It’s the little things in life whereby we bloom from within, especially when we gift ourselves gratitude for the experiences we are gifted.

Asking for help doesn’t need to be a big song and dance, nor does it need to be a sign that we aren’t coping. When we ask for help, we are merely asking someone to stand beside us and catch a ball or two for a moment. I am reminded of today’s quest that it takes a village to raise a child, and with all the balls we juggle in today’s modern society I can definitely see why.