Surround yourself with people who will always support you and be there for you. It’s easy to say and you think it should be easy to make happen but that’s not always the case. We all have that one (or a couple) person in our lives that seems to challenge every decision we make. That is always complaining about things you are doing that don’t even affect them. We have people that are jealous of us and they strike out by trying to put you and your decisions down. Think about it. Do you have one or more so-called friends like this? Cut them out of your life right now! I don’t care what they’ve done for you in the past. I don’t care what they are going through. If they can’t be supportive of you and the path you are on, then tough noogies for them. We don’t need or want people like this in our lives.
As I focus on the relationships we have in our lives this week I’m going to start with your circle of friends. I had some friends from high school at the house this weekend. These are people I have shared a lot of life with. I still have my photo album of all of us in Florida for our senior class trip and I whipped that bad boy out. There we all were in our bathing suits and bikini’s. We were amazed at how thin we were even though we thought we were so fat back then.
I think its so great that I’m still friends with these girls after so many years. We did have breaks when we didn’t talk. Facebook brought me back together with these two girls. I will always be grateful to social media for bringing people back into my life that I would likely have never seen or heard from again. We all have a history and I lived some of my greatest moments with these wonderful ladies.
We hung out and chatted. Had a few adult beverages and an amazing meal made by my hubby. Then we decided to play a game of “Cards Against Humanity” where we laughed so much my stomach actually hurt. It felt so good to laugh so hard. That’s what our friends are for! To make us laugh and build memories that we can look back on fondly. But we also had some time when we all caught each other up on what has been going on in our lives.
We all obviously have some issues that we wish we didn’t have to deal with. We let each other vent and commiserated together about how we look forward to a time when things are more in line with our vision of life. We have each other’s back. I know I can count on these girls to be there when I need them most. They are as outraged as I am at some of the things I’ve had to deal with lately. They tell me they feel my pain and understand my frustration while also telling me that I don’t deserve some of the truly awful things that have happened to me recently. Because sometimes you just need to hear that. You often find yourself questioning….what did I do to deserve this kind of treatment? Nothing….you are a victim of circumstance or that person was always jealous of you. The greatest thing about friends you’ve had for this long is they have watched your life unfold and can back you up and remind you of situations you may even forget yourself.
If you aren’t getting this type of support from the friends in your life, then it’s time to shop around for some new ones. Again, easier said than done…I know! It honestly has never been easier to make new friends though because of social media. Get on Facebook if you aren’t and join some groups around your community. Go to gatherings. If there isn’t anything you are interested in, then start your own group. I remember someone recently asking if anyone would be interested in a knitting club. I thought….oh man, no one is going to do that. Guess what? She got a bunch of interest and I’m assuming they are knitting their little hearts out. Put yourself out there and see what you come up with.
I have a very large group of new friends in my neighborhood because someone started a book club. Now I’m in two separate book clubs in the group as well as a game night group and we do different things throughout the year as well. So far this summer I have joined them for comedy night and we went on a sunset cruise last week. It’s so important to have a group to just go out and have fun with. It’s also important to have people in your life that can back you up and pump you up when you need it.
Are you friends with a lot of negative Nellies or Debbie downers? Let this people know that you are finding it hard to be around so much negativity while you are trying to live your best life. Some people will never change and if they don’t then maybe you will need to limit your interactions with them. Stop only thinking about what you bring to other people’s lives. Start thinking about how they enhance or detract from yours and adjust accordingly.
But always, always surround yourself with people who build you up…not tear you down. There are a ton of good people with amazing hearts out there. If you don’t have them in your life yet, find a way to make it happen.
It’s Monday! My favorite day of the week after Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I hope it is a fantastic week full of new possibilities for you. Now go out there and make things happen!
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