Friends and Running

I'm an entrepreneur.  I am self employed and many of my days are worked from home, in the quiet and without a water cooler and co-workers to chat with.  That sounds heavenly for many of you I'm sure, but I will tell you, while I don't miss anything about working in Corporate America, I do miss the people.
And so I'm always looking for something fun to do with other self employed people.

A lot has changed in my life this year.  I've grown and changed, like we all do.  Some of the relationships in my life that we very important to me at the start of the year, are no longer part of my life at all.  And I do feel this is a good time of year to assess who is a part of your life, why they are and if the relationship is still healthy.  This can be true of people, things, and jobs.  Is what you have around you making your life better, every day?

While we all have bad days, we generally have a good idea of who and what brings us joy and who and what makes us unhappy, stressed out, angry or sad.  Sometimes the answers aren't easy.  I had to walk away from some relationships this year.  I once considered these people some of my best friends, but when I took a step back I realized that I was doing all the work in these relationships, I was doing all of the giving and getting nothing in return.  So I walked away, and while it hurt at first, it was better in the long run.

So why am I telling you all of this?  Because I was able to find the strength to get rid of these toxic relationships through running.  I was able to find myself in my trail runs this summer.  I have made new friends through running.  I have become part of a community.  I'm not fast or competitive, but I love running and I've been able to connect to others who do as well.  And because of this, my life has been made better.