Saying Goodbye to Toxic People

There comes a time in your life (sometimes more than once) that you have to let go of toxic people and situations. Sometimes these toxic people are friends, sometimes they are family members, and sometimes they are co-workers.
Regardless of their role in your life, sometimes it is just best to say "hit the road Jack" and move on without them in your life. Even if they haven't "done" anything, if the thought of that person makes you cringe or just unhappy, then why keep them around. Not everyone is meant to be in your life for a lifetime. People are like trees. A tree can have a hundred thousand leaves, but with the changing of a season, they are gone. Then there are the branches. A tree could have a hundred or so branches. All of them looking strong and supportive, until you need to step out on one and it breaks away. Then you have the roots. The biggest tree in the forest may span hundreds of feet into the air, but only have 5 or 6 roots. The roots are the people who are in your life no matter what. They are what give you support and strength. They ground you. But aren't always seen. People get mixed up in life trying to make leaves and branches roots. A root will never have to prove itself to you, its just always there. Leaves come and go. These are the people in our lives that come and teach us a lesson. Weather that lesson is good or bad, we learn something from their time in our lives. Branches need to be pruned and tapered, in order to help the tree continue to grow.

Just recently, I had to terminate a friendship of over 5yrs. My friend and I had been through the gambit of life. In the story of us, at this time, I am a leaf. I could have been a root, but the timing wasn't right. They were going through somethings that I just couldn't follow them through. It wasn't because I didnt try, it was because I was being "phased out". So after some deliberation and some final words with one another, we parted ways on a friendly note.
Its hard to give up a friendship that long, but it is something that we both needed to do. We were unwittingly becoming toxic for each other, and with both our mental health being what it was/is, it was best this way.

Give yourself permission to move on. Its ok to trim the fat from your life. It may hurt, but you need to do so to move on. Doesnt matter like I said before, if it is a family member, friend, co-worker, etc. You can limit communications with these people or completely shut the door on them. I for one, being a "collector" of people, never try to burn my bridges with anyone. I like to keep on good standing with folks.
You never want to burn bridges, because you never know when you might be at rock bottom, and help is at the end of that bridge. Now that might sound like using people. And to a certain degree it may be, but we never know where help may come from when we are at our lowest.

In 2020, move past the toxicity, and allow yourself the freedom to live your life. Its ok to say no without explanation. Its ok to outgrow people and situations. Its ok to GROW.