Volunteering in a hospital shows you that brave faces are often worn by tired people. Look closer.

Brave faces are usually held up by people with very little left. In a hospital you see it constantly: calm voices, steady answers and jokes from families and staff who have been awake a long time, because the composure is for everybody else rather than for them. Once you notice how it is done, you see it everywhere.

Look past the surface with somebody this week and ask a second question after the first polite answer. Offer something practical rather than reassurance, since tired people need tasks taken off them. Remember it about yourself too, because your own steady face costs something as well.