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The problem with asking for favors
You can waste your life begging and waiting for them.
Nobody ever truly arrives. If you think you have, wait a day. That feeling never lasts long. Tomorrow, you’ll hop back on the ladder, reaching for the next rung. Successful people — however you define that — already know the fleeting nature of their accomplishments.
We’re all trying to level up. So we’ve all felt the temptation to ask favors. Or hover nearby, waiting for them. Like pigeons.
Personally, I hate asking for things. Most people do. We hate the vulnerability it opens. Meanwhile, we’re told “ask and you shall receive.” But it’s a trap. You don’t always receive. Asking for a favor at the wrong time, or from the wrong person, can do all kinds of damage.
We can’t get rid of favors. But we have to accept the confidence and resolve they take. Also, we have to prepare for rejections.
And sometimes those rejections hurt. Bad.
Plus, some people grant favors only to make themselves look good. Just last year, someone did me a small favor — one I didn’t ask for. And I never stopped hearing about it. He brought it up at three different meetings.
Honestly, I would’ve given him my firstborn. Just to shut him up.
