Part I — The Cleanse: Letting Go in 2018
She said: Thank God 2017 has ended. Although I have been blessed in many ways, I have also been tested by situations and of course people. As I enter into a new year, I vow to do a better job of managing how I allow people to occupy my time. This year I am doing a cleanse of my relationships so I can be in better relationships
People I am letting go in 2018 are:
- Leeches: Those who take without given anything back. They seek you for advice, money, support or companionship. They are very demanding and their problems are always ten times worse than your problems. They complain and whine about everything. They can’t see the positive in life because being negative gets them attention. They drain your energy and you don’t want to be around them. When you need them in any of the above ways, they are conveniently unavailable. It’s a one-sided relationship where their needs are constantly met and your needs are neglected.
- Underachievers: Those who do just enough to keep you invested in this relationship and you usually have known them for a very long time. There is no growth in this relationship because they won’t push you to be better or take the time to get to know you on a deeper level. They send you birthday wishes on FB but won’t come to your parties. Or they call you every now and then to check in with you but the conversations are not genuine. They are comfortable living a mediocre life and often will try to keep you from achieving higher goals. They won’t support you getting a better job, going back to school or moving to a better neighborhood. They want you to remain stuck like they are…doing the same thing, the same way and getting the same results.
I realize that by cleaning up my relationships that in the beginning I will lose a lot of people that I may have had for many years. But I am okay with the temporary lost because I will gain healthier relationships and I will have more time to work on me. As I get older, I place more value on the quality of my relationships and less value on the number of people I have in my life. And in time, I believe I will be happier and more successful because my team will include those who ride for me and push me to be better.
He Said: First and foremost, I want to thank God for allowing me to make it through 2017. Although I have been blessed in many ways, I have also been tested by situations and of course people. As I enter into a new year, I vow to do a better job of managing how I allow myself to react to people and situations. In 2018, I am doing a cleanse of myself. A cleanse of the way I would normally react to the things around me.
The things that I am letting go of in 2018 are:
- Harboring Anger. When people do things to intentionally hurt me, there’s a negative energy that builds within me and sits with me as long as I interact with that person. So then anything that person says or does angers me to a point that I wish to not go.
- Looking forward to things at an anti optimistic angle. “This won’t ever happen or that would never work”… I tend to lean too much on my past or my experiences with a person. Which funnels my thinking and the options I think that I have.
- Needing to control a situation from beginning to end. Usually I would feel out of place if I didn’t have a full grasp on things. I would become upset and frustrated when things didn’t go exactly how I planned them.
In closing this new year I am focusing on changing my mindset on things and continuing to become a better person, a more genuine man and a even more God fearing man. I wish all of you a better year in 2018 than you had in 2017.
