Hard Goodbyes Mean Growth

Farewells are hard. The difficulty comes from the fact that you’re reluctant to leave a good bond. That only comes from sharing memorable times together.

This is particularly important for me because I rarely found goodbyes difficult before. I’ve usually been quite accepting of most departures, because I guess the ties I built before weren’t strong enough to pull on my emotions.

This shows me that I’ve grown as a person; I’m now capable of establishing relationships that matter deeply to me and — I hope — to others as well.

I like to imagine that a hard goodbye makes the day that we get to meet again much sweeter. It becomes something to look forward to.

But in most cases, being able to meet again implies keeping in touch. And that’s difficult too. How should you keep in touch? And how often?

It’s scary to think that you guys would fall off, especially when you’ve already made some effort to keep contact. But you both know it’s more likely to happen than not.

Say you do actually grow apart.

That’s okay.

Being able to move on is a sign of strength. It takes quite a bit of maturity to accept that life might lead you to different places. And if you do get to see each other again, you’ll have a more interesting story to share. It would be a shame to be stuck chasing the past.

So the next time you need to face a hard goodbye, remind yourself that growth is waiting for you on the other side.