57. The Friendship Filter: Who Actually Deserves a Seat at Your Table?

The people in your life are either building you up or breaking you down - and some of them are doing both.In this episode, I'm going deep on the friendships that fuel a creative career and the ones quietly costing you your energy, your confidence, and your forward momentum. We cover the Friendship Shelf Theory, the must-have friend archetypes for creatives, and the draining ones you might be holding onto out of loyalty; not love. Plus, there's a study about ambivalent friendships and what they do to your nervous system that completely stopped me in my tracks when I read it.If you've been feeling the stickiness in certain friendships lately this one is for you.TIMESTAMPS[00:00] — The hard truth about the people in your life[01:00] — Why friendship is especially complicated for creatives[02:00] — Alfred Adler's 3 universal life tasks (friendship is one of them)[03:30] — The Friendship Shelf Theory explained05:00] — The friends you NEED: the road dog, the one who gets it & the honest validator[11:30] — The fun one, the collaborator & the nervous system regulator[13:30] — The season of life match friend[14:30] — Friends to watch out for: the ambivalent friend & the science that backs it[16:30] — The gatekeeper, the one-upper & the energy vampire[20:30] — The real cost of the wrong friendships for creatives[21:30] — Normalizing friendship grief[22:30] — Three questions to sit with✨Connect with Maddie✨Explore Maddie’s Website | @messywithmaddie