If handling a party invitation is such a hard decision, how are you going to handle changing jobs, getting married or travelling overseas? Everybody is differe

If handling a party invitation is such a hard decision, how are you going to handle changing jobs, getting married or travelling overseas? Everybody is different. I used to have similar problems trying to find the optimum. Eventually I gave up. A very wise person counselled me to simply be authentic. To get clarity around what I wanted and then go for it. So to apply this principle to the dilemma you described: I would recognise that for whatever reason I didn't want to go to the specific event. I would contact the host and say "I am sorry, but I won't be able to make it your ____ event. But I am very keen to know about any future events and I hope the circumstances will allow me to attend at least some of those. Thank you for the invitation and looking forward to enjoying your company in the future." It is unlikely that you would be pressed to give a reason for declining the invitation, but something along the lines of "a prior commitment" or "I'd rather not say" should suffice. Of course, if you have a specific reason you don't wish to go then you could share the reason ... tactfully. I have to admit that I struggled somewhat with your example as you didn't clarify why didn't want to go. Giving a reason would have helped give you a more specific suggestion on how to handle the situation.