Making It Easy for Them

Real Talk Vol. 37

I used to make things easy.

Easy to deal with.

Easy to be around.

Easy to stay connected to.

Not because I had to.

But because I didn’t want things

to feel complicated.

So I adjusted.

I let things slide.

I didn’t press too hard.

I kept the peace

even when something didn’t sit right.

I told myself it wasn’t that deep.

That it wasn’t worth addressing.

That I understood where they were coming from.

And maybe I did.

But understanding something

doesn’t mean accepting it.

And that’s where I blurred the line.

I made it easy for people

to show up halfway.

Easy to miss things.

Easy to not try as hard.

Easy to assume

I’d just go with it.

Because I usually did.

Not out of weakness.

But out of patience.

Out of awareness.

Out of trying to be “low maintenance.”

But over time,

that kind of ease

comes with a cost.

You start to notice

what you’re letting go

just to keep things smooth.

What you’re not saying

just to avoid tension.

What you’re accepting

that you wouldn’t recommend to anyone else.

And eventually,

you can’t ignore it.

Because it stops feeling like peace

and starts feeling like compromise.

That’s when I realized

I wasn’t just being easygoing.

I was making it easy for others

to meet me at a level

that didn’t actually work for me.

So I stopped.

Not in a dramatic way.

Not with a long explanation.

Just a quiet shift.

More awareness.

More honesty.

More intention behind what I allow.

Because I’ve learned

that how you show up

teaches people how to show up for you.

And I’m no longer interested

in making it easy

at my own expense.

–C