Daily writing prompt

What relationships have a positive impact on you?

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Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Daryl, Lizzi, and Sully have an overwhelmingly positive impact on my life. They are the people who make the long days shorter, the good days better, and the bad days survivable. If my life were a phone battery, they’re the chargers—not the apps running in the background draining it to 3% without warning.

Now… not all relationships do that.

Some relationships are less life-giving and more emotionally radioactive. Again, no names—just categories. You know who you are. Or you don’t. That might actually be part of the problem.

For example:

• The Emotional Roomba
  Sucks up all the energy in the room, bumps into everyone else’s boundaries, and still needs constant supervision.
• The Crisis Subscription Service
  Every interaction comes with a breaking-news alert. Somehow everything is always urgent, tragic, and everyone else’s fault.
• The One-Upper
  You went to the mountains? They climbed higher. You had a rough week? They survived something way worse and can’t believe you’re even tired.
• The Nostalgia Trapper
  Lives permanently in 1997. Only remembers you when you were thinner, younger, or less opinionated.
• The Human Comment Section
  Loud, negative, convinced they’re right about everything, and deeply allergic to nuance.

The relationships that truly have a positive impact on me are the ones that don’t require a recovery period afterward. The ones where silence isn’t awkward, laughter is frequent, and disagreement doesn’t feel like a hostage negotiation.

Those are the people who make life richer, lighter, and—on the best days—funny.

The rest?

Let’s just say I’ve learned that not every relationship deserves shelf space… and some are best stored in the “handle with care” cabinet, far away from the good stuff.

Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.