I finally said “that’s not part of my role” out loud

Dear Delyara, My voice shook a little, but I said it. I have spent years taking on extra things because I didn’t want to be difficult, didn’t want to seem lazy, didn’t want to invite criticism, didn’t want to risk the atmosphere changing around me. And if I’m honest, some part of me hoped that going beyond my role would eventually make me more secure in it. It mostly made me more used. This week, when another task was casually handed to me as if my time and energy were public property, I heard myself say, “That’s not part of my role, and I don’t have capacity to absorb it.” No apology. No long explanation. Just a boundary in professional clothes. I walked back to my desk feeling like I had recovered a small piece of myself from a system that had become too comfortable borrowing it.