At first, I was confused. It sounded like they were talking about Anthony Bourdain, but I thought there was no way he could be dead.
Google confirmed I was wrong. Anthony Bourdain was in fact dead… and by suicide.
As you might already know, my husband and I love to cook, travel, and explore new places through food. Often times we choose where we are going to travel based on the food we want to try and eat. We’ve even been known to make restaurant reservations before booking a flight or hotel. So Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows were watched regularly in our house. No Reservations and Parts Unknown were our Netflix go-to when we just wanted to chill and flip through cookbooks for inspiration for what we wanted to cook that week.
You might think it is weird, I even did at first, that I was impacted so much by someone’s death who I hadn’t ever actual met but the truth is, Anthony Bourdain impacted a whole hell of a lot of people who never had the chance to meet him. He broadened our horizons on places to go and things to eat by introducing us to new cultures and people. We all thought he had the greatest job on earth, even other celebrities wanted to be him.
Following his death, there was an outpouring of posts around suicide prevention and sharing the suicide hotline number. All great because there is a lot we need to do to help bring more awareness and support surrounding mental health, but I also think we are missing a big opportunity to have a bigger discussion about asking for help.
The problem is it isn’t just Anthony Bourdain who seemed to have it all. Everytime we scroll through our feeds, we see others on great vacations, hitting major business goals, and having babies, which can make us feel inadequate, unhappy, or unsuccessful.
But the truth is, we are all trying to figure out this thing called life, and we all go through different seasons. The more we realize this and are open about sharing our imperfections, the better and happier all of us will be.
You’re not alone, and asking for help isn’t a weakness. Whether that help comes in the shape of having your spouse take care of the kids so you can get an extra hour of much needed sleep, venting to a friend about a crazy boss and asking advice on how to work with them, hiring a cleaner so you can actually rest on the weekend, or outsourcing things for your business so you can focus on what you enjoy and don’t have to work 60+ hours per week because time is more valuable than money.
This week, I challenge you to make a list of 2-3 things that are weighing on you and ask for help. We all need support.
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