We look towards a partnership, a marriage, a relationship to enhance our lives. They enable us to do more than we could by ourselves. They stand with us to share a laugh or a cry. It’s great when that happens.

Sometimes, they offer very little. They’re just a habit that coasts along. No problem with that though. We can coast along with it, because change takes effort. And it should be worth the effort.

Sometimes, they cause slow harm. A business partner who doesn’t value our ideas, a client who goes back on a promise, a boss who burdens you every day, a spouse whom you can’t please, an employee who procrastinates… these diminish our lives.

They’re a burr in our minds, scraping against our peace and happiness. Over time, these scrapes cause a bleeding wound. Eventually, we do need to act on them, but the wait doesn’t cause irretrievable harm. Not always. And the action isn’t always to sever the relationship.

Sometimes though, our relationships wield a knife and slice through us. An abusive spouse, a business partner on the wrong side of the law, a client who blackens our name.

These kill us—some murder us, some kill our sanity, some, our financial stability. Many other ways, in fact.

With these relationships, we need to act immediately. We need to sever them.