Dependable people become infrastructure in other people’s lives.

Some people become part of how others structure their lives. The friend who always answers, the colleague whose work never needs checking. Like infrastructure, they are noticed mainly in their absence, and their steadiness is holding up more than anyone has said out loud.

Consider what would break in someone’s week if you stopped being reliable. That is the real measure of what you provide. It is rarely acknowledged and it is very real.