Stepping back from someone brings a particular fear: that you will push away the wrong person. Innocent grants that the fear is rational. He just doesn’t let it decide. The thing to learn, he says, is how to overcome it and part from people who do you more harm than good.

His sorting is plain. Some people motivate you, encourage your best, smile when you are happy and empathize when you are struggling. “Such people must stay connected with you.” Those who do the opposite belong on the other side of the line, and the parting is best done before the harm lands.

Notice the cost he names. It isn’t drama or fallout — it is your self-esteem wearing down and your own life getting harder to enjoy. Which is why he frames the leaving as permission: “You shouldn’t be afraid to dissociate yourself from people who don’t deserve your companionship.”