November 16, 2025
There are a lot of ways someone can get on my nerves. Forgetting to text back? Fine. Loud chewing? Mildly irritating. Putting the milk back in the fridge with exactly one teaspoon left? I’ll sigh dramatically, but I’ll survive.
But there is a line, a bright, electric, do-not-cross-under-any-circumstances boundary that flips a switch in my brain from “empathetic human” to “you no longer exist in my emotional ZIP code.” Today’s Question of the Day is asking us to name that line out loud.
For me, it’s when someone weaponizes my honesty against me. You know the type: you share something real, something vulnerable, something soft… and instead of holding it with care, they toss it back at you later like a dodgeball aimed at your face.
That’s the moment I stop handing out emotional access badges. No meeting. No follow-up email. No “let’s talk this through.” Just… nope. Door closed. Power off. The lights go out like the end of a Broadway show.
The older I get, the more allergic I am to people who treat sincerity like a weakness or a lever. And it doesn’t have to be dramatic betrayal. It can be the subtle stuff:
- The joke that wasn’t really a joke
- The dismissive “you’re overreacting”
- The way they twist your truth into their convenience
- The chronic pattern of only showing up when they need something
When someone shows me that my honesty is optional for them but required of me, that’s when the cord gets cut.
And here’s the part I didn’t understand when I was younger: cutting someone off isn’t about punishment. It’s about protection. It’s choosing peace over proximity. Choosing dignity over exhaustion. Choosing your sanity over someone else’s entitlement.
In a way, today’s Question of the Day is really an invitation to name your limits — not so you can build walls, but so you can build doors that actually lock when you need them to.
Your boundary doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you. That’s why it’s your line.
So what is the one thing someone could say or do to make you cut them off completely?
Say it. Own it. Protect it.
👉 Read the full blog post where I answer this Question of the Day and share the Thought of the Day
🎯 Browse the full Question of the Day archive →
✉️ Get Daily Questions and Thoughts Sent to You
Take a minute a day to reflect, think, and maybe even smile.
Join our free daily email.
💬 Your Turn
So… what is something one could say or do to make you cut them off completely?
Share it in the comments or on social — your weird little truth might be someone else’s comfort zone.
Leave a Reply