Speak Up: The Power of Asking for What You Want

I missed out on a lot of opportunities because I didn't ask for what I wanted.

Sometimes I didn’t take time to consider what that was. I just took what was available only to realise, at some point down the line, that it wasn’t what I wanted, still none the wiser what it was I DID want.

Sometimes I told myself that I would alienate people if I asked for something different or more.

Things were binary; I did what I was offered or wait for something else. I had no control in the process other than to accept or refuse. Even as I write this I feel how disempowering that is.

I rarely thought about what good looked like for me.

And if I did I rarely shared what that was or developed relationships with mentors to consider how I might get there.

I couldn’t see that, on the whole, people want to help and I rarely considered that what I’d built up in my mind as a difficult conversation is just that in the end: a conversation.

It’s very hard to get what you want if you’re not prepared to ask for it. 

It’s even harder if you don’t know what you’re asking for.

Pic: Me asking for what I want.