Some people dismiss complaints and discourage offers of help. Their protests clearly sound a false note, since it’s obvious to others that their martyred stance is another way of attracting attention. Other people refuse credit more honestly, thinking that their exaggerated self-sufficiency is a way of diminishing demands on other people.

If you act this way, you ignore the possibility that the other people might enjoy expressing their admiration or giving you a hand. Rather than experiencing you as not wanting to be a bother, others may feel that their appreciation and reciprocation are being rejected.

All things considered, we don’t need false modesty.