The Big A

“Sorry I was so busy”

“I was JUST about to call you”

“I never got the message. You sure your phone’s working?”

“I forgot my phone at work”

“I didn’t realise it was on silent”

“I don’t check my emails during the week”

 "But I have been in touch. I liked your picture on FB”

We are ALL guilty of having said one or a combination of the above at some point or the other. We can also not pretend that we have been told these white lies by someone we fancy or even worse – someone we’re close to. So why do we do it?

I’m going to sum up my take on this in one word – Accountability.

The urgency with which we respond to someone is in equal proportion to how accountable we feel towards them. Are we close enough and therefore accountable enough towards each other to put together a one-word text, one-sentence email or make thirty-second call? 

Are we really that oblivious to others’ emotions and expectations? 

Are we so self-involved that we can’t make time for each other? 

Or are we really that petty that we feel the need to play games?

The simplest way to resolve any of these unanswered questions is to increase our level of accountability towards people, not just when we have to (as in the case of juniors to managers and tenants to landlords), but because it's the decent thing to do - the adult thing to do. 

But then again, would this make us appear less interesting, kill the spark, and raise our expectations ever further?