Don't Keep Score in Relationships

The moment you start tallying who did more, who called last, who sacrificed more -- you've turned a relationship into a transaction. And transactions breed resentment. Real relationships are messy and uneven. There will be seasons when you carry more, and seasons when you are carried. That's not a flaw in the relationship -- that's how it's supposed to work.

If you find yourself keeping a mental ledger, that's usually a sign something else is wrong -- unspoken needs, exhaustion, or feeling taken for granted. Address that, not the scoreboard. The people worth keeping close are the ones where the balance works out over years, not days.