Outgrowing Friends

As we grow older, some say we grow wiser, some say we get boring. But loosing friends is all part of growing up, people change, circumstances change, life moves on. Not every friendship is meant to last, some are there to teach you a lesson. As someone who is a pathological people pleaser, peep Taylor swift, it’s always been difficult for me to let go of friendships and relationships that aren’t benefiting me anymore, but as I got older I realised that sometimes you have to make these choices and cut these people out of your life.

Here are some signs that you may have outgrown your friendships:

Diverging Paths: your lives have taken different directions. Your friends’ priorities may no longer align with yours, which could be leaning in different directions in your lives.

Lack of Understanding: as you’ve evolved you may find it challenging to understand each other, conversations may feel superficial, lacking the depth and connection that you both shared at a time.

Unsupportive dynamics: A friendship that feels one-sided may be a sign that you’re outgrowing the relationship. If you find yourself constantly reaching out or giving support but getting nothing back it may be time to reassess the friendship.

Different values or beliefs: I’m not saying that you and your friends have to agree on everything, but significantly different views may create tension or discomfort in the relationship, and the perspective may hinder meaningful conversations or cause some disagreements.

Negative influence: If the friendship consistently brings negativity or you feel as though you're being held back from personal growth, or if they're enabling your toxic behaviours, this may be a sign this friendship isn’t serving you a purpose anymore.

The final one that I think is the most important one is if you find yourself dreading seeing that friend as the times that you do you end up feeling drained or anxious. You find that after, rather than feeling better, like you’re supposed to after seeing your friends and they’re supposed to lift you, you feel emotionally exhausted or stifled. It isn't positively benefiting you.

Although, outgrowing friendships doesn’t necessarily mean ending the entire friendship altogether, this can just mean having an open conversation about how you feel and seeing how they react to your honesty. Explain that you might need some breathing room to grow.

Remember though, outgrowing friendships is a natural part of life’s cycle. It doesn’t dimmish the values of past connections, but it rather paves the way for new relationships to align with your present self.