The Joy of Being Asked to Help
This article explores the psychological benefits of accepting help from others, arguing that individualism often prevents people from deepening their connections. It highlights how life milestones, such as learning to drive or planning a wedding, provide opportunities to embrace vulnerability and community support.
Why it matters
It challenges the cultural stigma surrounding asking for assistance, suggesting that allowing others to help is a vital component of healthy relationships.
Deciding to go it alone can end up depriving loved ones.
Ekaterina Goncharova / Getty September 12, 2026, 8:49 AM ET Share Save This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
Learning how to drive is a rare instance in a teenager’s life, Liz Krieger argues in a recent article: “This wobbly uncertainty, this return to a kind of innocence, is the rarest condition in a 16-year-old, and it lasts about as long as a learner’s permit does.” The best part of teaching her daughter how to drive, Krieger writes, is being allowed to help.
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