I don’t know about you but it is HARD for me to make friends at this age and stage of life. I have my core friends that I’ve had since I was 12 years old, but when it comes to “new friends”, it’s a bit more difficult. I’m a mom now and it feels like making mom friends is a lot like dating… and I never liked dating. (lol) They even had apps to meet friends now, did you know that? I recently saw an Instagram post from one of my blogger friends, Krystal Bick at This Time Tomorrow, and she spoke about Kindred Spirits which got me thinking.

Do you have people in your life that you see as Kindred Spirits? That person that just gets you and you get them and it feels like you’ve known each other all of your life, but you only met 5 minutes ago? I love when that happens, but I’m finding that I’m often finding the opposite. I wanted to share with you some of the types of people that I try to avoid, and by avoiding them you open space for the right people to come into your life.

Toxic Friendships and What to Avoid

The Drama Department

It was fun in high school but ain’t nobody got time for a drama queen. It’s toxic and unnecessary. Bye Felicia.

The Gossip

This is the friend that is constantly talking about other people and what they do, in a negative or passive-aggressive way. I can guarantee you that if this friend is talking to you about other people, she’s talking about you to others too.

Hey Jealousy

The jealous friend is the one that wishes she had what you have or what other people have. Jealousy can be detrimental to your relationship and a real and true friend will support you no matter what, not wish you didn’t have the success that you do.

The “one-upper”

Do you know that person that seems to always make every conversation about them? If you have an issue at work, and you tell them about it hoping for support, but instead they tell you about an even bigger problem that they have? That’s the one. Having friendly competition in sports is healthy, not in your everyday life with the people who are supposed to have your back.

The Negative Nancy

Misery loves company and people who are miserable will try to bring everyone down with them. It might be in a subtle way, but that’s when you might miss it. They are energy vampires and should be kept far away. It’s close to impossible to stay positive around negative people without it being draining for you and your energy, but also you’ll start to feel negative and miserable pretty quickly too.

My Final Thoughts…

As we get older it’s even more important to recognize how we use our energy and who we give our energy to. Particularly to those who don’t value our friendship or the energy behind it.

No one friendship is meant to last a lifetime. Nourishing your friendships takes effort and time but it always has to be a 2-way street. Don’t get caught up and let yourself get walked on. Taking care of yourself should be number one on your list, and that includes surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, not bring you down.