Learn to say no

I have a few friends who will literally do almost anything for anyone. They'll always drop what they're doing immediately to help someone else. I think that's a great trait to have; however, it can be really damaging to your relationships.

The thing is, with any type of relationship, you have to set boundaries. And more importantly, you have to learn to say no. People will take advantage of you if you don't implement these two factors into your relationship with them.

I think it's really important to let people know that although you care about them and will willingly help them when they need it, you can't always drop what you're doing for them. You can't let someone keep creating inconveniences in your life and walk all over you. People WILL take advantage of you, whether you want to believe it or not. Even those with the best intentions, because they know that you aren't capable of saying no to them.

And also, it's worse to always say yes to someone you don't even genuinely consider a friend rather than simply saying no. You're given them a false impression of what your relationship is with them. I know it's scary to be honest with people, but you can't lead people to believe things that aren't true. 

Don't blame anyone but yourself when someone you can't say no to sucks the life out of you. You did it to yourself.

- Kelsey