Ask for help

Make it a goal to connect with one person, outside your family, every day. One way to do this is to ask for help.

Here’s how:

• Set a specific goal each day to ask for help. Over time, you’ll have made it a habit.

• Plan each morning what “the ask” is going to be and who it’s going to.

• Put a reminder in your calendar with an alert so you don’t forget.

• Start with your family. You can practice on them with simple things. This has at least two benefits: the first is that it’s an opportunity for you to ask for help and the other is that, if you’re a parent, it gives your child a chance to learn something new. You might already know how to do what you’re asking (but they don’t have to know that!)

• Practice on new and different people throughout the week: Family, friends, coworkers, store clerks (after all, they’re there to help!), and for bonus points, complete strangers.