I ask for help when I need it.

The neighbour with the ladder is usually pleased to be asked. That's the part people forget: help given isn't only a cost to the giver.

Asking is a skill, and like most skills it's mostly timing. Early, while the problem is still small and specific, is easier on everyone than late, once it has grown teeth.

The hard clause is when I need it. Needing it tends to be obvious to everybody except the person inside it. If you're wondering whether this counts, it probably does.