Creative, talented, brilliant. You would be thrilled if your boss used any of these words to describe you. But how about nice? Consider it for a moment: When asked to come up a definitive¹ description of your capabilities², your manager says, "She's very nice." True, there are far worse labels, but if someone used that description of you following a first date, there might not be a second one.

富有创造力、才华横溢、聪明绝顶。如果老板用这些词来形容你，你肯定会振奋不已。如果是说你“人好”呢? 稍稍想象一下：当你的经理被要求对你的能力做一个确切的评价时，他/她说：“她人挺好的。”的确，比这糟糕的评价还有很多，但是当你第一次约会时，如果对方用“人很好”来形容你，那也许就不会有第二次约会了。

It's not that a pleasant demeanor³ isn't a valuable trait on the job. After all, people want to work with individuals who are tactful, responsive and quick to offer a helping⁴ hand.

不是说好性情在职场上没有价值。毕竟，人们都喜欢和那些体贴、响应积极、乐于助人的人一起工作。

The trouble with being too nice is that it often goes hand in hand with other traits, such as being too accommodating, unwilling⁵ to speak up for yourself, or hesitant to offer constructive⁶ criticism to your colleagues. Following are some tips to help you be nice and creative, talented and brilliant:

心肠太好的问题在于它往往还伴随着其它特征，比如太随和、不愿发表意见、或在建设性地批评同事时表现勉强。下面这些建议能让你在“人好”的同时又能“富有创造力、才华横溢、聪明绝顶”。

Set boundaries.

要有底线

People who are too nice rarely say no. However, there's a vast chasm⁷ between helping out in a pinch and being overly accommodating. If you accept every request, even when your plate is full, you risk being taken advantage of and can quickly burn out. The next time a colleague asks for your help and you're slammed with your own work, ask if you can lend a hand later, when you're less busy.

“人好”的人们很少说“不”。不过，必要时的帮助和过分的热心可是有着天壤之别的。如果你在自己手边事情一大堆的时候都有求必应，那么你就很可能被人利用，很快就会精力枯竭。下次如果一位同事要你帮忙，而你也有一大堆自己的工作，就告诉他/她等你不太忙的时候再帮忙。