Stop Treating People the Way You Want to Be Treated

Why the Golden Rule often backfires in relationships

I text people all day. I’m in three group chats and I love every one of them. My friend Lex is the opposite. For years, when he didn’t respond to a text, I got angry. I thought: He doesn’t care about me. He isn’t putting in the effort. The internet would agree with my take.

One day, instead of typing up something passive-aggressive, I asked him about it.…