Nourishing relationships can shelter us through difficulties and free up space for us to pursue what is important. Draining relationships can have the opposite effect. They can take up so much space that they distract us from our purpose.
Leaving a relationship that is not providing the security you long for is an incredible act of courage. Taking a leap of faith & trusting in the potential for more is admirable and celebratory.
With that in mind, one of the best ways to reframe a breakup is as an act of love towards yourself, rather than an act of malice against the person you are breaking up with. Often, the narrative around a breakup is more punitive -- it sounds like "I'm dumping them" or "they didn't deserve me." While this kind of language may fit for more scenarios, it may be misaligned with others.
Especially in relationships where there is still love present, walking away can have more to do with wanting something different for ourselves than harboring anger toward the person we are walking away from. In the aftermath of this type of breakup, it can be essential to continually return to the intention of self-love and self-care, so as not to slide back into a situation that is not serving us.
If the time is right, and you muster the courage to walk away, you can remind yourself that you are brave, not malicious. It may be helpful to replace the more traditionally punitive breakup narrative with something along the lines of "this was a step I needed to take" and "unfortunately, I am not able to move forward with this person, despite the fondness I have towards them."
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