The Relationships We Manage

I like to say that there are three categories of relationships in our lives. There are the healthy ones; those we feed, are invested in, and consciously continue to build. There are the toxic ones; those to which we eventually learn how to strip them of power and in some cases, end the relationship altogether. And then there are those that we manage; relationships that aren't quite in the healthy category, but we are not ready, or in a position, to remove them entirely from our lives. We live in a society in which "family means everything," and "blood is thicker than water;" expressions that certainly ring true for anyone who has grown up in a home that was not touched by dysfunction or abuse. Societal norms can make us feel pressured to continue to try and adjust ourselves within a relationship, simply because they're family; leaving us at times to wrestle with uncertainty and compromised values. Perhaps a better solution, is to be able to look at the relationship we are struggling with and ask ourselves, "Are both of us invested in making this healthy?" If the answer is no, and it is pretty clear that only one of you is doing the work, then it really is okay to give ourselves permission to manage that relationship. Sometimes that comes in the form of placing in some much needed boundaries, other times it may mean taking a bit of space to slow things down; in any case, it becomes okay to accept the relationship as one that perhaps needs a bit of regulation and direction from time to time. Photo credit:https://unsplash.com/@majomaya