Being the one people count on is heavy. It also means you’ve earned something most people never do.

Reliability collects work. Once people know you will answer, you get asked more often, and the reward for handling things well is usually more things. The tiredness underneath that is real and rarely acknowledged. What also sits underneath is a reputation that took years to build and cannot be faked, which is rare and worth more than it feels like on a bad Tuesday.

Protect the capacity rather than spending all of it. Say no to one thing this week so you can keep saying yes to what matters. Depending on you should not mean unlimited access to you.