Respond to a request you cannot meet

Acknowledge the request and state the limit without promising an alternative you cannot sustain.

Try this

Answer the request directly, then state what you can offer only if there is a real alternative.
Leave the other person free to say the alternative is insufficient. A different offer does not automatically resolve the original need.

A worked example

“I cannot call every night. I can usually manage a longer call on Sunday.”

An invented example to adapt, not a real exchange or a script you have to follow.

Before you leave it here

Offer the alternative only if you mean it, and allow the other person to say it does not fit.

This is a voluntary planning exercise. Keep your notes private, adapt the language, and leave any question unanswered. It does not require Ourling or a purchase.

Ourling’s library uses AI-assisted original writing. These are practical exercises, not clinical advice or promises about relationship outcomes. Suggest a correction or a missing situation.