Course 3: PL 102 - Introduction and Story (Discussion 2)

1. What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?

I think what stood out to me the most was this line: “You made the best decisions you knew to make.” Honestly, it was very relieving to read this. It made me realize that, although I did make mistakes, I still did the best I could at that time.

2. What was the most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?

I loved reading this story! It was simple, straightforward, and interesting. The most important thing I learned is the importance of facing your problems and asking for help, and how this is essential for receiving, as well as giving help.

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

I think this could be done by normalizing asking for help and support. People should not be mocked for asking for help, nor should their struggles be dismissed. Instead, we should accept and try to understand a person’s suffering, and recognize that they did a very brave thing by seeking help.

1. What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?

I like how point black and straight forwardness of the 'things we need to tell you'. Especially when you feel low, it's hard to understand or even know how strong and amazing you are. It's so nice to hear it from a 3rd party.

2. What was most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?

I learnt that it’s okay to seek help when I really need it. I don’t need to do everything on my own.

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

We can constantly remind our loved ones that we’re there for them and normalize asking you for help.

1. What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?

"Personal growth isn't a straight line". This really made me nod my head in agreement.

2. What was the most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?

Problems will be there in life. We need to be resilient enough to face it, accept it, accept our limitations, admit that we need help and seek it out, work through it, and come out stronger. Avoiding it will only worsen it.

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

By accepting our limitations and not judging ourselves or others for the same. Limitations are natural and expected. What is not expected is to use it as an excuse to stay stagnant.

What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction? Lu Tong's words referring to 7cups, they were meaningful and encouraged more reading

2. What was the most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?

It's really important to open up to get support, and utilise the resources available to you. Being closed off isn't helpful, bottling things up makes things worse

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

Be a safe space to feel comfortable opening up in, and show that you're there for support and genuinely care to help

@GlenM

1. The thing that impressed me the most in the introduction was the personalized character of it and the empathy behind it. It's true that we all make mistakes sometimes and we can only overcome them by mutually taking a step back. For me this is a main characteristic of a good team and it's a sign of good communication. The fact that the community believes in us makes us overcome our fears and grow stronger to be able to face our own problems and support others.

2. On Chapter 1 there's a story about a virus on Ancora planet. This reminded me a lot of the pandemic that we are getting through and how many people lost contact with others after the lockdown. This seemed to enhance the alienation (people into zombies) among people, something that technology used to be accused for. Now technology is the only way we can keep in contact with people and it's a good example on how we can use something to make good or damage out of it. Zombies can also mean that people are turning into cold creatures with no empathy. Empathy is crucial for ourselves to understand others and be understood by others. The lesson that I've learned is that if people work as a team, the team can help someone when they are facing a challenging time, while when they were alone they might not have made it. So, it's important to create a healthy team with solidarity and values, while not stay alienated and ask help from the fellows to grow together.

3. It's important to accept that we have needs. We are not perfect and sometimes we may face challenges and need the help of our peers to get through. Teamwork can be hard because of the many different personalities that exist at the same place, but it can always provide safety that the team will support the person that needs it at the time. It is important to ask for help because as long as we're in denial the problem will be remaining there and it can damage the person and the team. That's why we need to have values and trust the team, in order to feel safety to open up, express our fears and overcome them by helping and getting helped.

1. What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?
The peice that mentioned "We are not interested in judging you. Your life makes sense. You make sense in the larger story of your life." That piece really stood out to me.
2. What was  most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?  Â
Background dosen't really matter in the grand scheme of things. In the end, it is about who the person is now, what skills they possess, how they act now. Then, it's important to be kind and compassionate to them, becuase they are just a human, like you.
3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

When you help somebody, you feel better. A sense of fulfillment. Having that feeling, and encouraging others to feel it helps. They can see that asking/reciveing help isn't a bad thing, becuase they are doing it, just for somebody else.

@GlenM

1.What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?

when I first read 7cups for the searching soul in January, I finished reading the intro I turned my phone off not to receive any calls, made a cup of coffee, opened the book on my laptop and finished reading the same night…

the poem by lu tong really felt like cups

and also one of the things that was mentioned in the intro was this (Your life makes sense. You make sense in the larger story of your life. You made the best decisions you knew to make.) and well at that time I was facing the outcomes of a bad decision and many of the people closest to me kept questioning how could I do something that stupid so I really needed that reminder and reassurance

2.What was most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora?

This wasn’t sth I actually learned but more of a well needed reminder that problems couldn’t be solved by trying to mask or ignore them like the wealthy ancorians did with stress control devices, and that taking away love, hope, trust and human connections from ourselves makes us more vulnerable, we are stronger together

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

When we talk about support or asking for help, we are also talking about hope

And I believe no hope is better than fake hope…

so if I want to give people hope, if I want them to know that it’s okay to need support, to need help, I need to make sure they can really get support!

and to make sure about that I need to act by example, I need to show empathy and support I need to be non-judgmental, ready to hug and accept people with their pain, needs and vulnerabilities not only their perfection and strength!

I need to build a culture of trust, by showing love, so people can hope and show courage to open up and look for support!

@GlenM

1. I liked that the introduction was direct and also really encouraging and inspiring.

2. That it really important to be able to ask for help!

3. Just taking it one step at a time, normalizing asking for help and avoiding the stigma about needing help.

1. What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?

I like the brutal truth of how growth is not easy and it will always be challenging and that's how life is. This just instills more power and will into people understanding and take steps.

2. What was the most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?

That fact that it's okay not to be okay and while reaching out to help can be tough and challenging, it is equally rewarding and overcoming at the same time.

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

We can start by becoming extremely approachable to those that need us. We can not judge them and show lots of compassion and instilling positivity into our peers.

1. What was the thing that stood out to you most in the introduction?

I love point 1: We believe in you. It's wonderful to think that there are people out there who believe in me and trust I can achieve many things even though they have never met me. I hope to be one of those people for everyone I come across on 7 Cups too. For example, in the Sharing Circle we only hear a member's story for 5 minutes, but everyone, members and listeners alike, offer so much support and encouragement, and it can be such a powerful thing.

2. What was  most important lesson you learned from the story of Ancora (Chapter 1)?  Â

People need people. Our lives are interconnected and we need each other for support, compassion and kindness. Reaching out to each other can be hard, especially when we don't want to admit to having any problems, but it is extremely important.

3. How can we learn and help others get more comfortable with the idea that asking for help - or experiencing need - is a strength or a skill that we need to develop to help one another grow stronger?

Like any other skill, practice is important. We can practice this skill by identifying areas in our lives where help would be appreciated and making a conscious effort to find people we can ask for this support. To help others work on the skill we can do our best to be an approachable person from whom they do not fear judgement, in order to make it easier to start asking for help.