Man in sooth is a marvellous, vain, fickle, and unstable subject.

People are not steady enough to be predicted with confidence, and that includes you. The same person is generous on Tuesday and petty on Thursday, firm about a principle until the cost arrives. Most disappointment in others comes from expecting a consistency that human beings do not have.

Hold your expectations of people a little more loosely this week, without lowering them. Judge someone by their pattern over months rather than their behaviour in one bad hour. And when you surprise yourself by falling short, extend the same allowance.