Whew, what a week. Do you ever feel like you have traveled a million miles in the short space
between Monday and Friday? This was one of them, thanks to a big, huge a-ha I had around
asking for help.
Earlier this week a friend mentioned she’d sent her niece several old books from childhood. I
started thinking about my own old favorite, “The Little Red Hen”. I hadn’t seen the book in years,
so I went up to the attic and dug it out. This volume was my mom’s when she was little. Don’t
you just love old books?
I flipped through the pages and went right back to my childhood. I must have read and been
read this book hundreds of times… and I discovered that a big part of its message definitely got
planted in my psyche.
In the tale, the little red hen finds a grain of wheat, asks for help from the other farmyard animals to plant
it, and none of them volunteer. She then asks for help as she picks it, mills it, mixes the dough and bakes
the bread and everyone says no. She gets very busy and focused on the work she had to do and doesn’t
tend to her chicks because she’s “doing it all.”
When she then asks who will help her eat the bread, suddenly many are interested in this phase
(no big surprise there) but she refuses them.
The moral of the story is that if you don’t help in the process, you can’t expect to enjoy the fruits
of labor.
While this moral may be fine (if a little sad and lonely), I didn’t resonate with it so much as an
adult, but I totally saw myself in the hen: She doesn’t ask the right people/animals to help her
and then just gives up on receiving any help when they say no. And she just plunges onward
and does all the work on her own, joylessly… even eating the bread alone.
So I am inventing something new today and calling it Little Red Hen Syndrome. This hen is no
victim—she brought all this on herself… She certainly could have asked more helpful animals
so she wouldn’t have to do everything herself. And she could have celebrated with the bread
and her friends and had some fun with it.
Does any of this sound like you?
Are you overwhelmed and struggling… yet staying that way on purpose?
What payoff do you get from staying in this struggle and “I’m so busy and have no help” mode?
So, inspired by my own henlike-tendencies, I asked the right people for help this week. Full
disclosure: I met with a health coach and contracted with my new business coach. I am very
excited.
Stay tuned! I definitely plan on celebrating the fruits of my labor.
If you find yourself experiencing any symptoms of Little Red Hen syndrome (doing it all, not
asking the right people for help, feeling alone even in your successes), give me a call. In your
complimentary breakthrough session, I’ll help you get really clear, so you can ask for the
right help along the way… and have a lot more fun in your life.
All My Best,
P.S. – Do you know a Financial Advisor? If so, send them this link for my Financial Advisors On Fire initiative!
P.P.S. I have a Facebook Group, “The Power Tribe” that I would love to have you be a part of. Check it out here.
Want to chat? Schedule a call with me, let’s get you on track!