Choosing Health Over Length: How To Create Boundaries With Friends You’ve Outgrown

There comes a time in life when memories and time aren't enough to carry friendships. It creeps up on us out of nowhere. Whether you are entering or leaving college, getting into a new relationship,moving to another state, or simply evolving. The shift in prioritizing certain friendships is no longer a desire. This doesn't mean that there's any love lost, but everyone has a purpose in our lives, sometimes it's forever, other times it's a season.

This has been a hard truth to accept over the last couple of years because some of my longest relationships have molded me into who I am. During my low points, those friendships carried me and showed love. The ride or die in me was devastated, as I realized the exchanges with people I thought I couldn't live without started to change.

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Those changes brought a lot of animosity towards my loved ones. I found myself getting jealous when I would see my "besties" spending time and creating memories with others. Our interactions shifted and I was left feeling neglected and undervalued because I was no longer the point person to get all the tea and invites.

The FOMO hit me hard. I was making myself miserable by constantly checking social media to see what my so-called best friends were doing. I played scenarios in my mind trying to make sense of how we got here. I didn't understand how close friendships could turn into associates. I had invested so much time into these people. I felt like I wasn't good enough, but was that the issue? Absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, we're not taught in life how to deal with changes in our environment, friendships, and relationships.

Here's how I had to adapt and set boundaries for my peace of mind:

Step 1: Tidy Up Your Timeline

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I decided to unfollow some of those friends on social media and/or muting them. Some may call it petty, but I had to fall back and give myself the space to figure out how I wanted to move forward with my friendships or if I wanted to move forward at all.

Step 3: Adjust Your Expectations

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I stopped putting people on a pedestal. Expectations can lead to disappointments. I can't allow outside people to determine if I'm valuable as a friend or not. I had to revisit what I offer as a friend and understand that those who are for me will flow to me.

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