destigmatizing help

Hello everyone,

This was posted about 3 weeks ago on Instagram and most of you probably already saw it, but I thought I would make a short post here as well.

This video came about in a bit of a roundabout way. I was alone at a festival in Zoetermeer towards the end of August.

It was called Live at the Lake. It was a bit far away from Amsterdam, but I won free tickets so I decided to just go.

I spoke and got to know quite a few people, and one of them got inspired by me and what I do.

So she decided to recommend me and bring me in touch with The Happy Squad, an initiative to do positive things for others that bring joy. They also highlight positive/inspiring people on their platform.

So I ended up getting contacted by them through the person I met at that festival, and they asked me if I wanted to work with them on a short video with Douwe Egberts, a coffee brand. The idea of the video was to have a nice conversation over a cup of coffee and share each other’s stories, and they would make a short video from that conversation.

We actually recorded this on the 18th of September, one day before I left on my exchange.

We talked about quite a few topics, but since a reel can only contain limited content, they decided to focus on one part.

Specifically, destigmatizing help. We all need help in our lives, but we act as if it is something bad or shameful to ask for help. Sometimes something bad happens and you need a friend to talk to, sometimes people get drunk and need their friends to get home safely.

Sometimes you’re lost and need to find your way, and sometimes you need help to find a nice place to eat.

There are many reasons why people might need someone else’s help, and there should be nothing wrong with that. You get help, and you help others in return.

In fact, I would argue it is a strength to be able to ask for help, and very healthy. You know what you’re good at and what you’re less good at, and you’re able to admit that and ask others for help to fill in where required.

In return, you help others the same way. Everyone needs help in different ways and at different times, but we all do at some point.

None of us are perfect, and we shouldn’t act like we are either.

So ask each other, lean on each other, and be there for each other.

That’s basically the message of that reel.

That’s it for this post, short and sweet. I hope you enjoy!

Yours,

Ihab