The cool thing about having a kid is that it forces you to tighten up any questionable relationships in your life. These were friendships with people I didn’t have any reason to outright and explicitly cut off, but I also have no desire to maintain a friendship with them.
One friend called me the night after I got back from the hospital with Henry. After I ignored it, he wrote that he just wanted to see the baby. I didn’t respond to the message. However, I figured it was something along those lines of wanting to see my son, so I chose not to answer. It’s not like I talk to this person anyway.
Had I taken that phone call and played along, I would have been sending a message that it was okay for him to have a part in my new life as a family. Now, this is a person whom I’ve known since childhood, but we have nothing in common and do not socialize.
In fact, with the death of my mother a year ago, I’m almost positive that we’ll never see each other in person again. We are simply on different life paths, and I want no parts of his life near mine.
Now sure, the argument arises that they were just calling to congratulate me. Maybe so, but if I never hear from them for anything else through the year, we aren’t close enough to feel like a video call is the best option.
Think of it like this. If an ex sends you a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Birthday" text, they probably mean it, but it’s also a low-risk investment to keep alive the possibility of extracting energy from you.
Whether it be in the form of conversation, consummation, or something in between, nothing is for free. Especially something that appears to be given freely.
The second friend I cut is similar enough to the first that I don’t need to bore you with the details. The only difference is the inciting event of the cut-off, but even that’s not important.
I’m still taking a similar approach. Some of you are keeping people around who aren’t bothersome enough to cut off, but somehow still find ways to insert themselves into your life.
Many of you are likely wondering why I didn’t do something more direct, like tell him to never contact me again. Well, here’s why:
In other words, I’m not burning bridges, not because I’m interested in crossing over. I’m leaving it open in case they ever want help to get off their little island of hell.
Maybe some of you have friends like this. They aren’t bad friends. They aren’t bad people. They’re just people you’d never be friends with in your current (and hopefully future) stages of life. In the days before social media, this person wouldn’t even be an afterthought after you left your hometown.
Both friendships are like scabs on a mostly healed wound. They no longer serve a purpose, aren’t painful to remove, are barely holding on, and no one would really notice if you ripped them off. From time to time, you may pick at them out of boredom, but when they fall off, you won’t even notice.
The ONLY thing you have to be careful about is reopening the wound. It’s completely closed now, but it’s still possible to cause a new scab to form.
This scab will be thicker, more intrusive, take longer to heal, and will hurt more if you try to rip it off. If you aren’t careful, you may end up with a permanent scar.
In keeping with this analogy, this is what we’re trying to avoid. Friendships with low-quality people that result in permanent, negative outcomes.
Before you have children, these negative outcomes are limited to proximity. If they’re doing something dumb, then all that matters is that I’m not around it.
However, now that I have children, every oddball influence I let around them in their formative years is one that I have to navigate later. Never mind the fact that I also have to keep my kid safe.
Teaching what I've learned from the hood, the ring, and everything in between. Join 35k other readers to learn how to manage risk, build relationships, and confront reality.
Forgiving myself has been the most challenging thing I've done. I'm not sure I've done it, but I try every day. As of the writing of these words, I've got 12 years of sobriety. This isn't enough time to forgive myself, as I still feel guilty for my behavior under the influence and beyond. But each day is a new one I approach with humility and gratitude for my luck and second chances. The main idea I remember when forgiving myself is that the past isn't real. Understanding this concept is...
Before we get into today's newsletter, here are some announcements and updates. We're not one week out from my return to the ring after 8 years off. July 12th, I fight here in my city at the Highmark Stadium. I feel fortunate that I'm able to fight on this card in the heart of the city. The card is not broadcast or streamed. I know my email list spans the entire world, but I also know there are some people in the Pittsburgh area where I live. If you want to come down and enjoy a great night...
You keep getting scammed for three reasons—and none of them have anything to do with how smart you are, how much experience you have, or even whether you’ve got street smarts. Now, don’t get me wrong—lack of street smarts definitely makes you an easier target. But hustling follows a different law. It’s the same rule that determines who survives anything summed up nicely in the quote, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives, but the one...