The Denial Strategy

Summary

As a man, if I had one fatal flaw, it would be that I cared a lot about my pride.

When I fell off my bike as a kid, I'd get right back up on my feet immediately, wincing through the pain while acting completely fine, terrified that someone might laugh at me.

Whenever my mom hired a cleaner to clean the house, I'd spend two hours beforehand sweating bullets scrubbing the place down myself, terrified the maid would see a messy house and laugh at me.

Once I started school, it got even worse. If someone else took one advanced tutoring class, I'd sign up for eight.