I am a creature of habit. I think a lot of us are. I have my likes, my dislikes, and — for better or for worse — I react to things in a way that causes me the least amount of stress, feather-ruffling and angst. My way may not be the fan favorite, but overall I sleep quite well at night.

I used to think that if someone didn’t like something I was doing, something I said or my general way of being, well, “there’s the door.” Perhaps a bit abrupt, yes. But sometimes I wonder how much less drama there’d be if more people felt this way.

Then again, maybe it’s nothing more than a means of fostering intolerance. I suppose it could be construed that way, but I don’t take it as such. If someone’s bummed that I’m not upholding my end of a bargain, so to speak, I wouldn’t blame them one bit for heading towards the door. Similarly, nor should they blame me, take things personally or get all bent out of shape.

One of my favorite (sarcasm) memories involved a dude I dated during grad school. As I’m burning the midnight oil the week my thesis is due, he has a man-fit (more unbecoming than a chick-fit, lemme tell ya) and starts whining about how he doesn’t feel important, needed, blah blah blah. Seriously? At that time, no — my degree was far more important than he was. But since he didn’t realize that, well, he was shown the door shortly thereafter.

We all go through things at times when not everything fits. Places may not fit, situations may no longer fit, people don’t get it and therefore they no longer fit. But the ones who get it seem to get it for life. The others, well…it just wasn’t a true fit from the beginning.

Tonight I am thankful for my true fits, for “the door” that many have exited through, and for the door that many more will enter. Life isn’t a perfect fit at all times, and while cleaning house can be painful in the short run, it makes the long run that much better.