Good friends will support your growth and your glow ups

Back on my bullshit again... a.k.a. rambling off some unsolicited advice based on my 41 years of trying to figure out how to exist authentically and be happy (whatever that means)...

Some people - especially those who perhaps met you in an earlier iteration of your life - will not be supportive of your growth.

That might feel impossibly hard. Don't let it stop you from growing.

Perhaps you became friends at a moment when you weren't super skilled at expressing your boundaries and they found you easy to manipulate.

Perhaps you gifted them precious energy and emotional support that they took advantage of, or rarely reciprocated.

Perhaps you developed more self awareness and a willingness to grow from mistakes, but they were more concerned with outsourcing blame or avoiding taking accountability for their own actions.

Perhaps you found people who were open to having deeper conversations that you craved but they were simply too uncomfortable being vulnerable.

I was reminded of this when I had a (former) close friend try to "warn me" and cut me down when I shared how genuinely happy I was feeling for the first time in ages.

Maybe this is obvious to some people but it took me a long time to learn: if someone else's relationship with you is dependent on you having no boundaries or shrinking yourself to conform to their expectations, ask yourself whether that's a dynamic you wish to continue allowing in your life.