“My first thought is usually, ‘Well I AM free…'”

I’m a people-pleaser. Like, big time. I’m Monica on Friends (my absolute favorite TV show), on the phone with an irate Mrs. Green, saying, “Oh my God, my ass is sweating!”
It’s so hard for me to let people down. When I know someone’s disappointed and it’s my fault, I feel extremely guilty. And this is correlated to the size of the let-down.
Probably the most difficult thing is when others ask us for little favors, which may not seem like a lot of effort on our part. It could be a simple, “Hey, can you switch shifts with me?” or maybe a, “Could you volunteer at this event?” My first thought is usually, Well I AM free…