When someone respects a boundary you set, say thanks. It’s not a given.

Saying no to somebody is a small risk every time, because plenty of people argue, sulk or simply carry on regardless. When someone hears a limit and adjusts without making you defend it, they have done something that costs them a little and is easy to miss. Good behaviour tends to go unremarked precisely because it caused no trouble.

Notice the next time someone takes your no cleanly and tell them you noticed. One sentence does it. It also makes the next limit easier to set, because you are signalling that this is how the relationship works rather than a one-off you got away with.