Being invited is somebody thinking “it’s better with you there.” Don’t treat that lightly.

An invitation is a judgement someone made about you in private. They pictured the evening, decided it improved with you in it, and then took the small risk of asking, which includes the possibility of being turned down. That whole calculation happened before your phone buzzed, and the message is the only part you see.

Reply properly and reply soon, since leaving people waiting is what quietly costs you invitations. Go, even when the effort feels high, at least sometimes. And do the asking yourself occasionally, because somebody near you is waiting to be picked and nobody is picking.