Person #1: “Hey how is everything going? I hope all is going well with you and the people in your life?”

Person #2: ” It is good. Keep in Touch.”

And then the process repeats itself again with person #1 always checking to see how everything is with person #2. When this happens too many times person #1 just has to stop and not even worry about contacting that person again. The reason why is because one person deeply cares about the relationship and the other person simply doesn’t care. It really is that simple, we go through life wanting somebody to care for us and be our friend, but don’t want to put in the work to return the favor. I have more respect for people that I email and don’t return my messages than someone who only responds when I email. I am not saying that I am a perfect person because I am also guilty of being person #2, but once the situation is realized I try to resolve the problem and become aware of what I am doing when it happens again.

Why does this happen?

I have no real clue why someone says one thing and doesn’t return the favor, but it does happen quite a bit. There are a couple of things that can be done.

#1. Talk to person #2 about the situation and see if that changes their behavior, if it doesn’t move on.

#2. Stop trying to connect and move on.

So now what?

In the long run you don’t really know what will happen with people you want to keep in contact with. There is a very very slim chance that you will be able to or really want to keep in contact with old friends or former co-workers. The reason why is because people change for all different reasons and that person might not be in the same state as when you knew that person best. With that said if it is worth keeping up then do so and if it doesn’t work out then move on. Remember there are 6 billion plus people in the world and you are not going to connect, have a relationship, play video games, travel, or talk to in your life time. So just meet and try to connect with as many people as you can and you should be alright.