This Is You, When Your Best Friend Is Making A HUGE Mistake | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

This Is You, When Your Best Friend Is Making A HUGE Mistake

And there's nothing you can do about it.

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This Is You, When Your Best Friend Is Making A HUGE Mistake
Pixabay

The older we get, the more serious the decisions we make become.

If you're lucky, you'll have a solid system of friends and family that support you and make you feel comforted and as if you're doing the right thing and making wise decisions for your future.

This isn't always the case, though.

It's tough to be on either side of this type of situation. Being in a place where you're not supported by your loved ones is obviously pretty hard to do. But, what about realizing you can't support someone you love in good conscience?

Having a friend who's making decisions you don't agree with isn't easy. You're sort of caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, you want to be there for your friend. Of course you do! But, at what point do you let them know you don't support them? Do you ever let them know? Is it better to bite your tongue and feign support, or tell them how you feel, risk damaging your friendship, and make them feel bad about their life?

For example, say you hate your best friend's boyfriend-- for GOOD reason.

Say he cheats on her, lies to her, is going nowhere in life, and has virtually no redeeming qualities... but she claims to love him and would do anything for him. You've never vocalized support for them, but you've never really denounced them. Yet, you see your friend CLEARLY wasting her time with a terrible person and she doesn't seem to be phased by any of the terrible things he does.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

It's a tough position. Sitting back quietly as you believe you're watching your friend throw their life away is painful. Do you get mad? Feel sorry for having these feelings? Are they mad at you? Are you supposed to ignore your intuition?

You have to tell your friend how you feel.

Let them hate you. Let them be angry. But, as a friend, you have to at least try to always watch out for them-- especially when its serious. If your intuition is right, time will prove it so. If not, try to emotionally support your friend but remain honest about your concerns. You would be doing a friend absolutely no favors by not trying to steer them in the right direction, but you don't have to turn your back on them completely.

....isn't that what friends are for?

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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