Help is Not a Four-Letter Word

Peggy Collins with Deborah Saverance
McGraw-Hill (2006)
ISBN 9780071477901
Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (7/07)


There is a rarely-diagnosed condition lurking in the shadows of many.  Symptoms include a strong desire to do it all, an aversion to asking for help, and the inability to say no.  Are you familiar with these behaviors?  Have you seen them in yourself and others around you?  Worse yet, are you burning the midnight oil just to stay on top of your commitments?  “Help is Not a Four-Letter Word” will save your schedule and, most importantly, your sanity.

Labeled “Self-Sufficiency Syndrome,” this condition has some unique side effects.  It is usually surrounded by praise, strong feelings of accomplishment, promotions, and on the other end, possible exhaustion and a strong feeling of the impossibility of keeping up with it all.  What keeps the Self-Sufficient going, what sparks the drive, is the strong sense of accomplishment, a strong feeling of independence and reliance on self.  Let’s face it – this isn’t always a bad thing.  It’s when the pendulum swings to the end of extreme self-sufficiency, when we find ourselves disconnected, over-committed, and unnecessarily doing it all.

“Help is Not a Four-Letter Word” introduces the reader to the signs and symptoms of severe Self-Sufficiency, provides tools for assessing our personal level of Self-Sufficiency, and teaches us how to move from a Self Sufficient to a Sufficient Self.  Through case studies, activities, self tests, and action steps, “Help is Not a Four-Letter Word” will provide many of those invaluable “ah ha” moments that catapult us to a new level of understanding and discovery.

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