Dear Friend,
Sometimes, when you have begun a journey to a new way of living, your earliest steps involve communicating your new direction to those closest to you. This sounds simple and exciting, but in fact change can be threatening to those around you.
Perhaps you have decided that you need to go in a new direction with your personal relationships. In that case your first act may be to tell a loved one that you no longer plan to be with them as much as you have been. Perhaps you have even decided that getting away from a person that you have been close to is a key first step to moving in your new direction. Either way, delivering bad news to another is never easy, and apparently hurting someone close to you at just the moment that you are experiencing joy is a bittersweet challenge.
The best way to do this is to just be honest. Despite your fears, just tell them what you are thinking. If your personal communication style lacks diplomacy, perhaps you should consider your words more carefully. The key is that you are not trying to hurt them. You do not want them to be sad. But you cannot put off your journey for fear of another’s disappointment or inconvenience. They may not like it, but you have no choice, and neither do they.
This fear of hurting those around us is a huge barrier for some people who want to start implementing changes in their life but fear hurting those around them, or who just do not love themselves enough to think that they have the right to happiness if a change may inconvenience others.
You do have the right. And you owe it to yourself to act.
So be brave, look them in the eye, and tell them what you need to. Tell them that you love them. Then do what you have to do.
Know that these hard moments will end quickly. And you are going to love your new life!
All the best,
Hugh
