Last night, my newborn son kept me up all night, waking every hour and sabotaging my climbing plans for today. I don’t mind. He’s five weeks old; he needs my help.

But it got me wondering if there are adults in my life that I help that I shouldn’t. Does my “see how much I can take” attitude short-change important areas of my life? Do I needlessly redirect energy toward someone else’s goals (or lack thereof) rather than toward my own? Does it also short-change the helpees by robbing them of a necessary, useful experience? Are there capable (but lazy) people in my life that capitalize on my competence at my expense?

“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it,” the old adage says.

This is true, and busy people are probably busy because they’re capable and therefore in demand. By being in demand, they have to be careful who they say yes to. Nothing is more appealing to a lazy person than a competent person who says yes.

Thankfully, no one I work with is like this, but in the past I have been too quick to volunteer my time to people who knew that I would offer it if they doddled long enough.

Note to self: Say yes to kids (especially infants) when they are incapable of helping themselves. Say no to adults and kids alike when they are obviously capable, but just being lazy.

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