Being kind doesn’t mean being a doormat for whoever walks by.

Kindness and compliance get confused constantly, often by people who benefit from the confusion. Saying yes to everything is not generosity, it is avoiding the discomfort of disappointing somebody, and it runs out eventually because there is a limit to what you have got. The real thing includes the version where you say no and stay warm about it.

Decline one thing this week without inventing an excuse. A short sentence, no apology, said in a friendly voice. The people who are fine with that are the ones you can afford to be generous with later.