People always say things like: “Always be nice to others” and “Treat everyone with kindness.”
But what they don’t reveal is that, oftentimes, being too nice ends up hurting you.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with being kind, there is always the risk of being taken advantage of exactly because of your giving nature. Besides, by constantly striving to be of help to others, you forget to look after yourself and neglect your own needs, leading to losing the most important connection in your life – the one with yourself.
To learn when to say no and how to keep a balance between making others happy and taking care of yourself, you need to know the dangers of being too nice.
Here are 10 bad things that happen when people start seeing you as too nice:
1. Others take advantage of your kindness.
When people label you as the nice person in their circle, they often exploit your generosity. Whenever they need a favor, you are the first person they go to. That’s because they know you wouldn’t say no to a chance to help someone out. Unfortunately, giving too much to others means leaving little to nothing for yourself.
2. They expect you to do as they say. Always.
In the cynical world we live in, kindness is often mistaken for weakness. Therefore, whenever someone is acting too nice, people automatically assume they are easy to manipulate. If this is your case, those around you probably expect you to bend to their will because they see you as a pawn they can easily control.
3. You attract the wrong people.
Following the physical law stating that opposites attract, kind people often attract insincere individuals. If you find yourself surrounded by toxic characters, it may be exactly because of your giving soul. In their minds, you are someone they can exploit for their own benefit because you are too nice to say no to their requests.
4. You forget to look after yourself.
If you are constantly prioritizing everyone else’s needs before your own, you will eventually forget to look after yourself. Perhaps being a little selfish doesn’t fit your kind nature, but sometimes it’s necessary. Because when you are always putting others first, they get used to it, and they make sure you get used to it too.
5. People lose respect for you.
If you allow others to use your kindness and take advantage of your pure soul, they wouldn’t have a single reason to respect you. Failing to see the difference between being nice and deliberately letting others abuse your altruism will earn you no admiration from anyone.
6. You stop being kind to yourself.
While going above and beyond for others, you forget to treat yourself with kindness as well. Your attention is constantly towards helping someone else, making you overlook your own needs. What you fail to see is that you are also a person who needs to be treated with compassion just like everyone else.
7. People assume you are fake.
Nowadays, meeting a truly nice person with a high level of emotional intelligence is rare. That is why some people may see your empathetic soul as a mask. They may see your personality as fake and suspect you hide deeper, much more evil nature underneath.
8. You never have time for yourself.
As much as you wish to just step back and relax, there is always someone who needs you to do something for them. And because you are too kind, you never say no to such a request. Sadly, by trying to please everyone else, you never make time for taking care of yourself.
9. You experience severe burnouts.
By constantly running errands and doing things for others, you experience overwhelming burnouts far too often. Making others happy brings you joy, but it also brings you unbearable anxiety. Is it worth it?
10. Your heart fills with hatred.
When others start to expect you to do everything they ask you to and always be there when they need you, you begin to resent the way they treat you. In your mind, you are the one who goes to extremes to help them, so they should treat you with respect and admiration. However, things don’t always work that way because people usually take your goodness for granted. And that behavior triggers feelings of anger and hatred that eat you alive.
Does any of the abovementioned signs sound familiar? Have you ever been hurt by being too nice to others? Leave a comment to let us know!
