End the friendship, make no enemies - Part I
Friendships are formed and end. Sometimes the cause of the rift is huge, a defining moment that the former friends will remember for the rest of their lives, sometimes the dissolution of the friendship happens gradually, a drifting apart millimetre by millimetre, until words are not even needed to signal that the friendship is over. It is obvious.
There is a middle category, where a particular event (nothing earth-shattering, mind you) might occur, which triggers remembrance of past similar events, and finally someone decides that they do not wish to be in the relationship any longer. When the events that trigger the end of the friendship are due to a difference of opinion rather than a difference in fundamental beliefs or ethics, you may want to still hear/see/talk the person again, but as acquaintances rather than good friends. It is never easy to end a friendship, especially when the friend falls into the middle category of somebody you respect or like, but sometimes these friendships are no longer beneficial to either party. You could let the friendship drift to its eventual demise naturally, or you could be proactive and tell your friend directly. Sometimes this proactive measure could even strengthen the friendship. In the next entry, I will cover some ways to communicate the end of a friendship that is serving neither party to a friend in a way that may allow you to remain acquaintances with the person.
When you have had to end friendships, how do they usually end?
friend, fight, friendship, end a friendship, ending a friendship, enemy, relationships
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April 26th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
What a great site. Deep and informative. I will definitley be back here. I love this!! I have had to end friendships before and it is never easy. You always seem to regret something you said or thing of what you should have done. You just do your best and try to move on.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:22 am
Tough subject! The problem is that usually one person in the friendship is ready to walk away before the other. I’ve been on both sides, and generally they just peter out without anyone actually saying the friendship is over.
April 27th, 2007 at 2:33 am
restraining order
April 27th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
[...] End the friendship, make no enemies - Part II April 27th, 2007 by Jummy In the last entry, I suggested that if you decide to end a friendship, it is possible to do so without turning a former friend into an enemy. This assertion comes with two caveats: [...]