The friends who knew you at your most awkward might not fit who you are now. Thank them anyway.
CREATIVITY
WHAT THIS MEANS
Some people were right for a particular stretch of your life and are not right for this one. That is not a betrayal by anybody; it is what happens when two people change in different directions. What they did was real though, and being known while you were at your least impressive is not a small gift.
Say thank you for something specific rather than letting it fade into nothing. Name the year, the thing they did, why it mattered. You can do that and still let the friendship be what it now is.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Who stood by you at your most awkward and deserves thanks?
MORE IN GROWTH, CHANGE & REINVENTION
- Nobody’s born knowing how to parallel park. They just did it badly in an empty lot until it wasn’t bad anymore.
- The rice-to-water ratio changes with the rice. Lots of rules you grew up with were only rules for someone else’s pot.
- Start a hobby at twenty-five and you might be the oldest beginner in the class. Someone has to be.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.