Goodbyes happen for all sorts of reasons.
I’m talking long-term goodbyes – like when someone moves on from a job, or when someone moves to a different town or country, or when a close relationship ends.
Sometimes it’s goodbye forever, but more often you will see the person or people to whom you are saying goodbye again.
But even if you knew you weren’t going to, it’s important to say goodbye well.
An appropriate, well-thought out and good-natured goodbye allows people to move on, but a strained or nasty goodbye can stay with people for a long time.
Why did he say that to me? Why didn’t she say that to me? Why did I leave that unsaid? Could he not just have kept that to himself? Were the words ‘thank you’ so hard to say? Did I mean that little to that person/organisation?
And while a goodbye can sometimes seem like a tempting time to settle a score with someone, or air a grievance that has been simmering for a while, it’s almost never a good idea to do so.
Life moves forward. Goodbyes are a part of it doing so. Don’t make them harder than they need to be.
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