Dear Chai:

Congratulations for completing the marathon yesterday, for bringing to fruition your mental and physical preparations.

Regarding you not being sure about  your ex girlfriend and ex friend being manipulative or not, there are ways to find out, if you were so inclined, but if you are sure that you feel uncomfortable around them and there is no benefit to you in interacting with them, why interact; why be in contact…

You spelled out the way to succeed: “to keep going despite some ups and downs”. Most people most of the time stop when facing those “downs”. The key to success is to keep going when facing those downs, when facing doubts and distress.

I am fine, thank you for your good wishes. Looking forward, as always, to your next post!

anita