Many years ago, a female friend of mine came over and asked if I was willing to do a favor for her. I replied the same way I would to anybody else — it depends on the favor. I never say yes unless I know what I am agreeing to.

She then told me that she wanted to cause serious problems for a man and wanted me to help her find his wife. I was caught off guard by this request. At the time, we were still getting to know each other, so this felt like an unusual thing to ask. While I might have been able to help, I simply said I had no way to do that.

From the conversation, I gathered she had been involved with a married man. Maybe she wanted more or felt betrayed, but she clearly wanted to hurt him. I did not think it was wise to get involved. Who knows where that could have led, and I wanted no part of it. I decided to put some distance between us.

At the time, I was strongly attracted to her and had expressed interest in dating her. She said she felt the same. But somewhere along the way, she got involved with this married man. I have been told I take too long moving forward with someone, but for me it is about having a solid sense of who I am dealing with. Some call it slow; I call it caution.

Looking back at how things unfolded and what she asked of me, I am grateful I did not get involved. There is no telling how things could have ended or whether she might have caused problems for me down the road.

The takeaway here is to be very careful who you get involved with. No matter how attracted you are to someone, take the time to get to know them first. Not everyone is stable or trustworthy. Some people act recklessly and end up causing damage, even to themselves. Be careful out there.