20060802

A Frustrated Friend
When is it OK to say no to a friend?
August 02, 2006

decision 2

Chris: I feel like my friendship with Mike is becoming one-sided. I don’t mind doing favors for him . but I wish he would help me sometimes, too.
Alyssa: Why doesn’t he? That seems kind of selfish.
Chris: He doesn’t mean to be. I’m sure he doesn’t realize he always says no to me. He just tries to do too much, so he doesn’t have any time left over.
Alyssa: Well, do you really have time to do all these favors?
Chris: I guess so. I might as well keep doing favors for him. It doesn’t really hurt, and after all, he is a good friend.
Alyssa: And you’re a good friend, too.

Decision 3

Chris: I just can’t keep helping Mike when he never has time to help me.
Alyssa: So are you just going to stop helping him?
Chris: No. But I think we can make a deal. If I do a favor for him, he’ll have to do something for me in return.
Alyssa: Hmm. That sounds more like a business deal than a friendship.
Chris: I know. But it will be good for Mike. He needs to realize that he really takes advantage of people.
Alyssa:Yeah. That could cause problems for him in life.
Chris: Right. So as his best friend, I should help him overcome his problem.
Alyssa: Good luck!