Hey dudes, venting a little, but I've been having trouble lately. Call it a crisis of intention. I haven't had much positive reinforcement in my game and I realized what I wrote in the title. I want to play the game, but cold approach (at least at night) doesn't feel like playing, it feels like persuading the girl to even start. When there's no pretense and it's just me and some chick, I do fine. I'm flirty, funny, teasing. Recently, I first met a buddy of mine's HB9 gf and had her calling me her best friend, flirting and wanting to set me up with her friends. No effort at all, just being myself. The same sorts of things happen every once in a while, girls approaching or doing most of the work for me. The point is that she has at least some investment and interest in the interaction.

But when I go out with intent, it's like pulling teeth. Blank stares, stunted conversation, no effort on their part. It's to the point where I barely want to try. What's my motivation to invest energy in strange, unpleasant women? It immediately puts me into her frame and I end up feeling shitty when I finally eject. All this before I can even tell if she's worth a damn.

If I had the luxury of just sitting back and waiting, that'd be great, but the no-effort successes are too few and far between.

TL;DR

What's your main intention when you're out (at night, day, online, whatever)? What's your mental angle when you approach a girl and know nothing besides "she's cute"? What do you screen for? Or do you just compliment and move on, no expectations? Basically, how do you get her to play the Game with you instead of wasting energy convincing her to even try?