
Verbatim | Dec 05,2018
Nov 2 , 2019
By Tsion Fisseha ( Tsion Fisseha is a writer and head of foreign languages in the news department at a local TV station. She has been a part of a pan African poetry slam competition representing Ethiopia and is a member of a rock band entitled the Green Manalishi. She can be reached at tsion.f.terefe@gmail.com. )
It was early in the morning, and I was barely awake. My dad, the surprisingly loud and chirpy morning person, comes and sits beside the bed and says, “Good morning.” I, still trying to figure out what time it is, respond drowsily and pretend to go back to sleep in order to cut the conversation short.
My father, uninterrupted by my lack of interest in the interaction, points toward his phone and asks me a question about a social media feature he was unable to understand. I took the phone, and within seconds, my dad snatches it away and says, “You know what, I will figure it out myself.”
At this point, I have started to get agitated for more reasons than one. More importantly, I was boiling over with rage, because of the fact that I was woken up to provide my service and immediately got shut down.
Regardless of how benign the altercation was, it made me think about all the times situations like this happen in the real world and how they lead to a point of no return. Most people are scared of asking for help. They are scared that the perception of people toward them might change, because they asked for a hand or a brain.
And we are also convinced that success and prestige come to those who thrive and work by themselves. And still, others say, “If I receive support, then I have to reciprocate. What if I can't return the favour? What if I don't want to return the favour?”
This is erroneous rhetoric. In fact, many leaders have proved the importance of asking for help when and as needed. An article written about this particular topic says the key is knowing when and how to ask for help and what to do with what’s provided.
Former United States President Barack Obama puts the ideology in perspective with the following quote: “Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new.”
Asking for help does not guarantee success, nor does it always get answers, but it at least eliminates the possibility of not knowing. It might not always be a push in the right direction; it does not even mean that one has to accept every form of help that has been given. But it should put one at ease by proving the point that one is not alone in this world and that two brains are better than one.
A good friend of mine once told me, "When you ask a question or when you ask for help, you might appear to be stupid or dumb for five minutes, but living your life not knowing what it is will guarantee you being stupid for the rest of your life". Asking for help keeps us away from making assumptions and keeps us from allowing our imaginations to run negatively wild. It lets us be a "we" as opposed to the "I" that has been consuming us for quite some time now.
No matter the situation one is put in, no matter how small the case might be or no matter how big of a problem one is facing, remembering that asking for help does not cripple or undermine the one who is asking is a lesson that should be kept near and dear to one’s heart.
PUBLISHED ON
Nov 02,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
1018]
Verbatim | Dec 05,2018
Obituary | Mar 21,2020
Radar | Mar 27,2021
Fortune News | Dec 19,2020
Commentaries | Aug 07,2021
Editorial | Aug 17,2019
Radar | Apr 16,2022
Viewpoints | Jul 09,2022
Editorial | Dec 25,2021
My Opinion | Sep 18,2021
Photo Gallery | 77287 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 69294 Views | Apr 26,2019
Fortune News | 55996 Views | Jul 18,2020
Fineline | 55051 Views | Oct 03,2020
Dec 24 , 2022
Biniam Mikru heads the department of cabinet affairs under Mayor Adanech Abiebie. But...
Jul 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
Nov 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
Nov 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
Sep 23 , 2023
Ethiopia's contemporary political leaders and the policy wonks under their command ha...
Sep 16 , 2023
The Ethiopian economic narrative oscillates between pockets of resilience and signifi...
Sep 10 , 2023
Earlier this Ethiopian fiscal year, the heralding of a peace deal became synonymous w...
Sep 2 , 2023
An unfolding horror story revealed the human cost of desperate migration in the arid...
Sep 23 , 2023
In the misty break of dawn, the usually scuttling Lamberet Bus Terminal in Addis Abeba stood comparatively quiet. This terminal serves as a...
Sep 23 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
In the wake of a devastating two-year war, SUR Construction Plc, one of Ethiopia's premier contracting fi...
The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) executives were taken aback by an unexpected decision from the Sta...
Sep 23 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Ethiopians living abroad for over a year and non-residents of Ethiopian origin can now deposit foreign cu...