How To Handle Out Growing Friendships

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Some friends are only for a season. That was a hard lesson I learned later in life. As a youngster, I thought that friendships were forever. If you were my friend then, you were my friend for life. As I got older, I began to realize that some of the people who called themselves my friends weren’t really worth my time.

Friends are supposed to help us. They are there for moral support and comfort. If they’re not, then it’s time to re-evaluate the relationship. If your friend is like this, it may be time to cut him or her off of your list of friends. Don’t feel bad about that either because sometimes you really need to do some introspection to figure out who your real friends are.

It can be tough to let go of a friendship, especially if you’ve been friends for a long time. But, it’s not impossible. You just have to be honest with yourself and with the other person. If they’re truly your friend, they’ll understand.

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There are a few ways to handle outgrowing friendships:

  1. Talk to your friend about your feelings.
  2. Set some boundaries.
  3. Let go gracefully.

Talking to your friend about your feelings is probably the best way to handle outgrowing friendships. You can explain that you still care about them, but you just don’t have the time or energy to keep up the friendship. If your friend is very important to you, this might be a hard conversation to have. It may even leave your friend feeling hurt.

Setting boundaries is another way to handle outgrowing friendships. You can talk about how much time and energy it takes to keep up a friendship before you make any promises for future get-togethers or plans. Sometimes, it’s easier to set boundaries in writing. Just let your friend know what you’re able to do and when.

Letting go gracefully means that you just stop making plans with this person and eventually tell them why you can’t spend time together anymore. You don’t owe anyone an explanation, but if your friendship is important to you, this may be a difficult conversation as well.

I never like to see friendships end, but sometimes they just don’t work out. If friendship is important to you, you might want to consider these options before it’s too late.