Cultivating and Weeding Relationships

I don't mean the romantic variety(even though what I am about to say is probably applicable there as well).

I am talking about great friends, family members, mentors and people who you have a working relation with.

Many relationships exist purely out of convenience, however to cultivate the truly meaningful relationships with the above people, we must work to maintain those relationships precisely when it is most inconvenient.

This past weekend, I was in my great friend's(almost like a brother) wedding... on a few day notice... and it was 2 states away. Did I also mention I am currently jobless? I didn't even have the right color suit. Would any reasonable person hold me in the wrong for not going? Nope. However, it is a relationship that I wish to cultivate, so I bit the bullet, purchased all the clothing necessities and a last minute ticket and off I was to the wedding.

On the flip side, some relationships exist out of convenience, and are more convenient to keep going than to finish, even though they are not correct for either party.

My first job coming out of college was with Qualcomm, which was an awesome company, it just wasn't awesome for me. I realized about 3 months in that I just wasn't fired up about working there, but continued for another 9 months because it was a comfortable relationship, and, frankly, quitting is far from comfortable. Even with as uncomfortable as it was, the weight off of my shoulders made up for it a hundred times over.

You have to know when you need to go the extra distance for your relationships; sometimes it will be to fetch water for them to grow, sometimes it will be for a lighter to watch them burn.