I figured this sub could give some straightforward advice about a friend I have.

Post-college I'm grinding on my health, grad classes, etc. Sunday-Friday. Self-improvement is priority. Many of my friends are doing the same or don't give a shit, I catch up with them ~1x per week.

One friend was along for the ride in college - didn't attend but partied with our group.

We all notice it - these days he's emotional, gossips and pits us against each other, hangs mostly with girls, just beta behavior. He gets salty when we don't wanna hang. Smokes a lot, doesn't hit the gym. He also tries to discredit me with the other guys when I'm away.

Basically, he's like the guys from No More Mr Nice Guy to a T. It's not 100% of the time, it's like 70-80%. But it's definitely annoying and rubs off.

How do you distance yourself? We're all in the same group so I don't know how to shake him loose, especially with him trying to discredit me within the group. We used to be close, but he refuses to mature. I can tell he's envious we're moving forward quicker than him.

If it's as simple as telling me to withdraw myself, I'm ready to do it, I think I just need to hear it from a third party. It feels like a sticky situation but I might just need to boss up.