Why It’s OK to Outgrow Your Friends

As we get older, we start to lack the ability to maintain strong communication because of time management, which makes it hard to keep up with friends. I especially know many experience this when we attend college or work, simply continuing on with our busy lives.

When do we reach the point when we know we no longer belong somewhere or want to be in someone’s energy? From my experience, if you feel like your friends energy is stunting your growth, it is OK to understand that we simply outgrow our friends.

Now, the hardest part of a friendship heartbreak is acceptance. Living in a constant state of denial that you are the one to blame for a broken friendship is just an excuse to hold you back from flourishing.

Friendships can be just as toxic as romantic relationships, which leaves most of us thinking we have to stick around because we are comfortable.

For example, sometimes we outgrow our jobs and we get scared to move forward because we are used to our daily routines. Most of us stay because we know we have mastered the skills to be successful.The same concept applies to friendships. We know what the plan is, so even if we do not agree or feel comfortable with it, we put ourselves in situations that make us not feel lonely; yet we still somehow feel alone.

If you’ve ever experienced an identity crisis of not knowing who you are without your old friends, it’s completely normal. Letting go of friends can be misleading because you have never really known who you were without them.

You will come to realize you never really had much in common with them, but sadly, you simply do not even know what it is you enjoy about yourself without them.

Take the time to figure out what you enjoy. Enjoy the space to spend time with yourself, but most of all, get to know who you are. What are you hobbies? Are you comfortable seeing a movie alone? Figure out what you enjoy and find people around you who enjoy the same.

I used to thinking that going out every weekend and putting myself in party environments or situations that made me uncomfortable was me stepping out of my comfort zone.

That’s until I realized I was not stepping out of my comfort zone, I was just uncomfortable.

I had to step back and ask myself, why am I here if I do not want to be? Why is that every time I leave an event with these people, I feel terrible about myself instead of fulfilled?

I did not know that dropping my toxic friends would allow me to be figure out who I was without them. Once I started to surround myself with company I wanted to be around and go to places I genuinely wanted to be in, I felt an instant weight lifted off my shoulders.

The memories you hold with these friends are not erased. Embrace them as a part of your life that has made you who you are. Accept that people change, people grow, and honestly, people simply move on.