Pwaul wrote something that reminded me we're related

I'm exactly the same way. If someone asks me to go wash their car for them I feel like a jerk telling them I am on my way to work. In the meantime they let me feel like one. Your friends are right. It's all about confidence. You have to be okay with feeling the way you do, and self-assured enough to tell people about it. When in doubt, speak your truth. And don't worry about the rest. If someone genuinely has a problem with you not wanting to be a floor mat, what good are they to you? There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to give to others... but know that it will almost always inevitably cause people to use it as opportunity.

For instance, where I work (in a placement home for juvenile delinquent and abused young teenage girls) if I for one second let my guard down and show them pity they take advantage of me. They will make up a crazy story to make me feel bad for them so they can get out of a chore. They know that people feel bad for them, and they don't seem to take to heart how much value there is to find in a person that cares because they have never had that feeling before. But either way, it doesn't do them any good for me to pity them. And it doesn't do anyone else any good for you to let others walk all over you. Not for the person that is doing it, and not for you. If you stand your ground and make them see how ridiculous their request feels to you, chances are they will start trying to do you favors to make up for it.