“Asking for help is a universally dreaded endeavor,” writes M. Nora Klaver in her anti-self help book, Mayday: Asking for Help in Times of Need.

Whether we’re struggling with getting that heavy bag in the overhead bin on the airplane, or fixing a flat tire by the side of the road, Americans are much more likely to say, “I’m good” instead of “Can you help?” 

“I got this,” we’d prefer to say. We’d rather die a thousand deaths than have someone else think that we can’t do things on our own. 

Photo by Michael Kappel