“You need to rest so you can recover,” says my inner Nurse Mary Fletcher-Brown on the other shoulder.

“Why do you have to be so bloody independent?” says my other half. 

"I can do it!" I stubbornly cry. 

So many conflicting thoughts at one go. 

Needless to say, the last few weeks haven’t been easy. 

I was forced to spend the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022 on the sofa with my foot up following surgery on my ankle.  For Two weeks I was on crutches and couldn't put any weight on it, and for the last three weeks I've been slowly walking around and gaining strength reducing to one crutch to crutchless.

And I have hated every minute of it.  

I was raised by quite a grumpy feminist who insisted I should be independent and NEVER rely on a man for anything. It’s been ingrained in me since I was a kid, so having to rely on my other half for the simplest things like food and drinks has been difficult. In fact it has gone against everything I was raised to be. An independent woman. 

But it's upset all aspects of my personality.  

My inner control freak has been frustrated that I haven’t been able to be  as productive as I would like to be over the last few weeks.

My restless spirit is frustrated because I'm rubbish on crutches and even carrying a glass of water was  out of the question. 

This has meant that I've had to swallow my pride and ask for help. And to accept it.

As a rule, I never ask for help. 

Like my mum, I always struggle through anything I’m faced with alone. Determinedly alone. And I've managed OK, up to now. 

Therefore, this experience has been a massive learning curve for me. 

From having to rely on someone to get me food and water, to helping me up and down the stairs to having to drive me everywhere as I was unable to walk the half a mile from the car park to the bank. 

I've learned that knowing when to ask for help is important. And it's powerful.  

I would like to say that I will try to ask for and accept help more over the coming year. It'll be hard but I can do it. 

In my personal life and my business life it's time to recognise my strengths and my limitations. 

I'm hoping this is something you could embrace as well. Asking for help when you need it, whether that's help with the content on your website, or to have regular blogs or social media posts, ideas for content, or even help with writing your first book. I would love to help so drop me an email.