I have found that especially where people are concerned, you need to know how the bad feels to truly appreciate when you have it good. This may be sad, but is often true. I have found this to be the case in friendships, relationships, families and even in the workplace. I think many people can relate to having someone who has made them feel unloved, unimportant and insecure. But life is never one perfect ride where everyone treats you right. It is full of twists, turns, ups, downs and sometimes even your world goes completely upside down. Wouldn't it be nice if it was full of friends who didn’t exclude, or boys who always had the best intentions? Of course it would. However, would you ever know what a best friend was like or who the love of your life really was without these negative relationships?

I think bad relationships -- through the hurt and the tears -- are the number one thing in life that will offer true clarity. Many times it’s a wake-up call to remind you that the person who hurt you, isn’t someone who is worth keeping in your life. It’s God, openly saying to you, that he is helping you get away from this environment. I mean, it’s true that people in our lives have a huge influence on us. You often start to see yourself become just like the people you surround yourself with. Bad relationships help us be more grateful toward people in our lives who are truly good for us in every definition of the word.

Bad relationships also help us question our own actions. We feel regret for times when maybe we didn’t handle something properly. These relationships remind us of the type of person we want to be. They show us the exact way we do not want to act toward someone because we know how it feels to be on the other end of the spectrum. Therefore, we learn to live our lives more gracefully.

Bad relationships on the more practical side teach us how to deal with conflict. We are put in situations that force us to make hard decisions. For example, do you confront the person? Do you walk away? Do you save the friendship? All these questions are things that one has to deal with when dealing with bad relationships. In life, you will work with all kinds of personalities wherever you go. Having dealt with conflict before will give you an advantage out in the real world. As you can see, a lot of really positive things can come from someone who has treated you badly. Any time that you learn from a negative situation, it can only help you see more clearly and help you live a more fulfilling life, which is never a bad thing.

I may be the first to say that I am blessed to have had bad relationships. Now, I know how it feels to be loved, to feel important, and to feel secure. That realization is something I never would have gotten without being around these toxic people. Being granted a new perspective is a huge gift in itself because it means you are able to be more grounded, grateful and as a result, happier! That’s right, bad relationships make you happier, because guess what? You would never be able to be happy with people in your life who make you feel like you aren’t good enough.