Golden Retriever

You are the reason the phrase golden retriever energy exists. You arrive at full volume, you are visibly pleased to see people, and you do the thing that was asked of you without needing it explained twice. Most of what you want is for the people around you to be having a good time, and you will work surprisingly hard to arrange that. It reads as simple. It is not — keeping a room warm takes constant low-level effort that nobody sees, and you are the one doing it.

The cost is that your mood is outsourced. Because you take approval as the main signal, a cool response from someone whose opinion you value can flatten an entire day, and you will replay it looking for what you did. You also say yes before you have checked whether you have the hours, which is generous right up until the point you quietly resent it. The golden retrievers who stay happy are the ones who learn that a person can be disappointed in you and the relationship survives it.