A personal lift mechanism and method are disclosed. The personal lift mechanism comprises: a lift having a base structure which pivotally retains a pair of struts which are pivotally coupled with a lift platform; an actuator coupled with at least one of the pair of struts; and a damper coupled with the actuator and operable to dissipate kinetic energy transferred between the lift platform and the actuator. In this way, less mechanically-robust components are required for the lift mechanism, damage to those components and the actuator is less likely, and any load on the lift platform and/or base structure will experience reduced shock due to the energy being instead dissipated within the damper.