If you want life to go more smoothly, don't easily showcase your instrumental value to others. Once instrumental value is used frequently, it quickly depreciates, shifting from being appreciated to being taken for granted. Relationships based solely on functionality lack emotional feedback and are extremely fragile; if you cannot meet needs, you will be complained about or even replaced. Long-term immersion in the illusion of "being needed" will only drain your time, energy, and abilities.

In interactions with others, shift from demonstrating functionality to showcasing value. First, emphasize less what you can do and more on providing judgments, suggestions, and ideas, allowing others to see your value rather than just your execution ability. Second, establish scarcity and boundaries for your capabilities, making others perceive your time costs, and through delayed responses or reciprocal exchanges, convey the signal that "your efforts are valuable." Third, allow relationships to cool down. Those who leave because you are "not useful" are not worth maintaining; only those who truly stay are recognizing your value.

Life becomes smoother not necessarily because you maintain more relationships, but because you let go of unequal relationships in a timely manner.