Clean Up Your Relationships

Creating a simple life isn't always easy. Some steps, like stopping the junk mail, are easy and can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. Others, like cleaning up your relationships, can take much longer and be among the most difficult things you ever have to do.

I'm referring to an impossible marriage or a relationship that isn't going anywhere, and that is causing you stress or pain. If you're in such a relationship, and you've tried to fix it and you can't, get out. If you can't come to that decision on your own, then get help. Talk to a therapist, or join a support group of people who are committed to your happiness and well-being. If you can't find such a group, then form one of your own. Meeting on a regular basis with people who are going through similar problems, and who are committed to growth, can prove a powerful impetus for you to get out of a dysfunctional relationship.

Cleaning up relationships refers to friends, too. Perhaps it's time to think about moving on from a friendship that no longer works for you. Ending a friendship, unlike ending a marriage, doesn't necessarily require a major confrontation or discussion. Depending on your history together, sometimes it's easier to retreat and simply fade out of someone else's life.

Just realized that when you think about it, the "getting out" of a difficult relationship can be relatively easy. It is "deciding to get out" that is the difficult part. No other thing you could possibly do will simplify your life as quickly or as completely as getting out of a relationship that isn't working.