I don't need help!

Colleagues,

Do you ever struggle to ask for help? I do.
 
Here’s how bad it is. I’ve been talking with my friend Mike about the new greenhouse/shed since first imagining it. In fact, Mike gave me the tempered glass panels that inspired me to build a greenhouse in the first place. More recently, he gave me some 8 by 8-inch posts so the shed could be a post and beam structure. 
 
It is going to be so cool when it is done, but there are two problems.
 
First, I don’t know how to build a post and beam structure. Second, I am afraid to ask for help.
 
Mike spent 10 years building post and beam homes. He gave me the posts for this project, and I do not want to ask him for help. 
 
Have you ever experienced this as a leader? Faced with a daunting challenge, you won’t ask for help. Maybe you are trying to execute a plan the team came up with but are afraid to ask the team for help?
 
Why?
 
Here is what I am telling myself:

• My friend is too busy, and I don’t want to bother him.
• He’s already done enough to help me.
• I should be able to do it myself.
• I should be able to do it myself.
• I should be able to do it myself.

 
When I type it out, my list seems ridiculous. Who is too busy to help a friend? Why should I be able to do something I don’t know how to do?
 
I hope you have been reflecting on your own willingness to ask for help, but maybe I’ve missed the mark. If today’s message resonated with you, please just reply here and let me know that I’m not on an island. Thanks.
 
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick