Some friendships will last forever, but most just naturally end on their own. It can be difficult to know, however, just when a particular friendship has exceeded its shelf life. Here are just a few signs it’s time to move on from a particular friend.
1. You are preventing each other from being healthy.
Some people are your friends because they’re always a blast to hang out with. It’s fine to party every once in awhile, but when you find you’re just using hanging out as an excuse to stay out all night, it’s time to move on.
The same holds true if a friend is using you as an excuse to cut loose. If you find that a friendship is taking its toll on your body and your health, the friendship is over.
2. There’s a transactional element to your friendship.
Getting some help from your friends (and helping them when needed) is an important part of any friendship. If you find that you’re only spending time with a person because you want to get something practical from it, that’s not a healthy friendship.
Friendship shouldn’t have an agenda. You should spend time with this person because you genuinely enjoy their company, not for any other reason. If you’re just hanging out with someone to get something or to use them to network, you aren’t really friends.
3. You’re putting in all the work to stay friends.
Friendship should go both ways with each of you initiating contact from time to time. If you find that you’re always the one calling or texting to hang out, it may not be worth the effort.
If your friend goes silent unless you contact them, you may not be a priority to them. Try not contacting them for a while to see if they contact you. If that doesn’t happen, you’ll know where you stand.
4. They’re not reliable when you’re in need.
Friendship is easy during the good times. When you’re in need or in some trouble, however, that’s how you find out who your true friends are.
If you have a friend who can never seem to lend a helping hand when needed, they’re obviously very selfish. Life is too short to invest time in a selfish person.
5. You can’t be yourself around them.
Your friends should like you for the person you are. If you have a friend that causes you to change your behavior or wants you to be someone different, it’s time to end that friendship.
This also includes a friendship that was great in college but hasn’t adjusted to adulthood. If you feel like you revert back to an old version of yourself around this person, that may be someone you want to keep in the past.
6. You feel like you’re being manipulated.
Some friends always seem to be in crisis and always need you to be there for them. They’ll stop at nothing to pull your heartstrings to get you to comply.
This is an effort on their part to manipulate you. This can be difficult to detect, but you should feel it at a gut level. If you begin to feel like you’re being manipulated into staying friends, cut that person out of your life.
