“A wise man shuns a strong man who may be injurious to him, making a point of not seeming to avoid him because an important part of one’s safety lies in not seeking safety openly; for what one avoids, one condemns.” – Seneca

Sometimes in life we have friends, coworkers, maybe even family members that we are better off not having anything to do with. Maybe they have changed, started down a path we can’t be associated with, or gone off the rails a little bit more than we can accommodate. But more likely, we have changed. More likely, we are at a place where old behaviors that we once could tolerate are now best put behind us.

But that doesn’t mean we need to alienate our loved ones simply because for the time being, we have outgrown them. In fact, we do far more damage to ourselves by even letting them know that we have moved on beyond them. We do far better limiting our interactions with them while still giving ourselves the opportunity to work on our ability to lead by example and to build relationships while keeping people at a distance. Those are two skill sets that will serve us well should we choose to develop them.

And we should choose to develop them.

virtus fortis vocat