It is boorish to live ungraciously: the giving is the hardest part; what does it cost to add a smile?

The hard part of generosity is the giving itself, and you have usually already done it by the time the moment comes. What is left is the manner, and the manner costs nothing. Help handed over grudgingly can land as a reminder of the trouble it caused rather than as help. Warmth is the cheapest thing in the exchange and often the part the other person keeps.

This week, watch how you hand things over: the favor, the answer, the thing someone asked you for. If you are going to do it anyway, do it without the sigh. Notice whether you make people feel like a cost.