Holly Riordan

You might miss your almost more than actual exes because you never had the chance to get to know your almost intimately. You’ve only seen the best sides of them.

You already know it’s dangerous to compare yourself to others. No two journeys are going to look the same. Every person walks at a different pace.

You shouldn’t stay in the wrong relationship because you’re scared of being alone or because have a long, complicated history together and you feel like you owe them your love.

You always have power. You might not have the type of power that you want – over whether someone specific falls in love with you or whether you’re offered your dream career. But you are never entirely powerless.

The strongest humans aren’t the ones who have everything come easily to them, who have never gone through a single struggle, who have succeeded on their first attempt and have never had a single doubt about themselves.

They should promise to stand by you when you’re struggling. Your person shouldn’t go MIA whenever you’re dealing with a problem and then magically reappear when the seas are calm again.

Even though you might be heartbroken right now, that doesn’t mean you’re going to feel this way forever. And it doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.

Give up on an almost relationship when you’ve exhausted all your options. Honesty is the key in any relationship – including almost relationships.

Moving in with your person is a huge step. However, sometimes you won’t know whether your person is a good (or horrible) teammate until you’re sharing the same bed and bathroom.

Some friendships are toxic. And some people who used to be good influences on each other grow apart over time.

You’ve lost family members and friends because you set new boundaries. These people might feel like you were being unreasonable. They might have accused you of changing because you started to develop standards.

Sometimes, reaching out to them will do more harm than good.

You don’t need to be the bigger person when being the bigger person means compromising your morals, thoughts, and beliefs. You don’t have to be polite in order to keep the peace and avoid confrontation.

If they really cared about you, then they would put effort into loving you wholly. They wouldn’t keep making so many mistakes. They wouldn’t be giving you more and more reasons to cry into your pillowcase.

It’s frustrating when you keep ending up in almost relationships when you’ve been wanting something serious. However, almost relationships are becoming more and more common.

You’ll feel discouraged. Even though you’re passionate about what you’re pursuing and know you have what it takes to reach your dreams, it’s not easy dealing with failure after failure.

He texts you at reasonable hours — when he’s sober. He’s not waiting until two in the morning, after having several drinks, to get in touch with you. He’s already thinking about you earlier on in the day.

Because you have history together. You’re allowed to leave at any time. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been with this person for three months, three years, or three decades.