“I can’t bear this” is a phrase most of us have used and all of us have heard. What I don’t think we heard is that it’s a cry for help.

I believe the complete phrase, though often unstated, is “I can’t bear this alone.”

Many of us have been conditioned to “soldier on.” But it’s quite difficult if you’re attempting to do that by yourself.

It’s my experience that people want to tell their story. I believe that story telling is really an effort to get another to recognize how painful something is for you. It’s a way that we indirectly ask for help, not wanting to outright ask.

If your life is a monument to bearing stuff alone, you have burdened yourself under Mount Rushmore.

Asking for help is not a weakness; it’s a way of strengthening your chance to get out from under.

English writer John Heywood left us with this timeless proverb: “Many hands make light work.”

Want to lighten your burden? Just slightly change your tone and let people know you can’t bear this alone.

All the best,

John