It’s Okay To Ask For Help

It’s the strongest and the most helpful among us that often have the most trouble asking for help. The frontline responders know that their duty is to rush toward the bang, while others run away. A parent knows that they put their own interests and needs behind those of their children. The person who others rely on to be cheerful and fun can feel like they have no one to express their sorrow and pain to. Yes, a Stoic is strong. Yes, a Stoic is brave. Yes, a Stoic does their duty—without complaint, without hesitation. A Stoic carries the load, and willingly carries the load for others when necessary. But they also have to be able to ask for help. Because sometimes that’s the strongest and bravest thing to do. “Don’t be ashamed to need help,” Marcus Aurelius wrote. “Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?”Exactly. So what? You’re not looking for a handout. You’re looking for advice. You’re not looking to be exempted. You’re getting your wounds treated so you can get back into the fight. You’re not looking to get an unfair advantage over anyone else. You’re taking advantage of the opportunities that were designed for precisely the situation you’re in. If you need a minute, ask. If you need a helping hand, ask. If you need reassurance, ask. If you need a favor, ask. If you need therapy, go. If you need to start over, go for it. If you need to lean on someone or something, do it. We’re in this mission together. We’re comrades. It’s okay to ask for help. If it makes you better, it’s the right thing to do. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. It's okay to ask for help. It's the strongest and the most helpful among us that often have the most trouble asking for help. The frontline responders know that their duty is to rush towards the bang while others run away. A parent knows that they put their own interests and needs behind those of their children. The person who others rely

• 0:48Ryan Holiday?

  on to be cheerful and fun can feel like they have no one to express their sorrow and pain to. Yes, a stoic is strong. Yes, a stoic is brave. Yes, a stoic does their duty without complaint, without hesitation. A stoic carries the load and willingly carries the load for others when necessary. But they also have to be able to ask for help, because sometimes that's the strongest and bravest thing to do. "Don't be ashamed to need help," Marcus Aurelius wrote. "Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you've been wounded and need a comrade to pull you up, so what?" Exactly. So what? You're not looking for a handout. You're looking for advice. You're not looking to

• 1:31Ryan Holiday?

  be exempted. You're getting your wounds treated so you can get back into the fight. You're not looking to get an unfair advantage over anyone else. You're taking advantages of the opportunities that were designed for precisely the situation you're in. If you need a minute, ask. If you need a helping hand, ask. If you need reassurance, ask. If you need a favor, ask. If you need therapy, go. If you need to start over, go for it. If you need to lean on someone or something, do it. We're in this mission together. We're comrades. It's okay to ask for help. If it makes you better, it's the right thing to do. Hey, thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast.

• 2:14Ryan Holiday?

  You can sign up to get our daily email at dailystoic.com/email. I also encourage you, if you want to take your practice of Stoicism to the next level, to sign up for Daily Stoic Life, which is our members-only program. It's got all sorts of awesome benefits. You can check that out at dailystoiclife.com.