The Disease of Yes

“You’re too nice.”

“You do too much.”

“You don’t have to say yes to everything.”

I know.

I know.

I know.

But have you ever seen someone’s face light up

because you showed up when no one else did?

Have you ever watched relief melt into their shoulders

because you said, “I got you”—

and you meant it?

I have.

And it’s addicting.

So I nod.

I say yes.

I offer more than I have to give,

wring myself out like a damp cloth,

leave pieces of me in every outstretched hand.

Until I am nothing but an echo of other people’s needs.

Until I mistake exhaustion for fulfillment.

Until someone asks, “What do you need?”

And I realize—I don’t know.

Because my love is a currency I give away freely,

and somehow, I am always in debt.

To all the people pleasers out there—your kindness is not a weakness, but it also shouldn’t cost you yourself. You deserve the same love and effort you so easily give to others. So the next time you’re about to say yes, ask yourself—do I actually want to? And if the answer is no? Give yourself permission to say it.