Somebody always has to care more. Plain and simple.
You’ll go through possible reasons why someone isn’t as ecstatic about you as you are about them, and you’ll come up empty-handed at best, and full of self-doubt at worst. You’ll make the decision to care less. When confronted with a situation that makes you pleased, you’ll try to suppress the most fundamental emotional response imaginable.
And you know what? That is complete nonsense.
The last thing this world needs is one more indifferent person.
Being the one who cares less makes us feel cool and suave. But never anything more than that. It can’t even begin to compare with the excitement of meeting someone you are CRAZY about. Someone who lights up your day with every subtle interaction. Someone you cannot wait to see again. I know it’s a trial to be the one who cares more. But it’s also the most fulfilling feeling and I’d like to urge you not to sell yourself short of it. Just be the freaking person who cares more. Be the person who tries harder, loves stronger, gives more of a shit than all of the half-alive people who surround them. Be the person who answers their messages, shows up to their commitments, and doesn’t leave others hanging or guessing at their eternally vague intentions. Be the person you wish you were dating. If you’re sick of the game then stop playing it.
It’s as easy as smiling back at someone you pass. Have you ever heard the saying, “Better to be the one that smiled than the one who didn’t smile back“? A smile is one of the most simple acts of compassion there is, but it has the power to brighten someone’s day even if it’s just in the slightest bit. And vice versa. If you’re having one of the worst days, or even weeks, how uplifting is it to receive a genuine smile from a complete stranger? They don’t know you, what’s going on in your life, or anything about you at all, but they still chose to smile at you in hopes to spread a little happiness. So, smile back, because it is just as important to be the one who smiles back as it is to be the one who smiles. I believe a smile is one of the most genuine and valuable things you can give because you truly never know what someone is going through. So next time you’re having a bad day, or a good day, or an average day, smile. Because, I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be the one who smiled than the one who didn’t smile back.
If you’re careless, cut the cord. If you care more then show it. Arrive with enthusiasm to every waking moment of your life.
An example of being the person who cares more is perfectly shown in the hit comedy television show The Office. In season three episode seventeen, “Business School,” Pam invites her co-workers to an art show where some of her art is on display. No one shows except Oscar, who she overhears calling her display “motel art.” This makes Pam feel deflated by the lack of support. As she’s taking her pieces down, Michael Scott comes to see her work and asks to buy her drawing of their office building. This makes Pam’s eyes fill up with tears and she hugs Michael thanking him.
Because that is what we need in this world more people like Michael Scott, more people who care. More people who give a shit. More people who aren’t afraid to shout what they want from the rooftops and pursue it with a sense of abandonment. We need more people with passion. More people with gusto. More people who will stand up and fight for exactly what they want out of life because they aren’t afraid to look a little stupid and feel a little disappointed on their way to achieving what they want out of it.
We need more people who care more, regardless of how that makes them look. More people who are, perhaps, exactly like you.