Some friendships were always a bit of a stretch. You stayed in them because of history, or convenience, or the shared context of parenting at the same time, or because it felt like you were supposed to be close. You showed up, you made it work, you adjusted yourself to fit.

But as you get clearer about who you are — and the identity work we talked about in our previous post pushes you in this direction — you start noticing which relationships ask you to be less than yourself. Which conversations leave you feeling a little flattened. Which friendships are built more on habit than on genuine connection.