[email protected]

Cart

0
Login

Connect with

Login with Google Login with Linkedin Login with Amazon

Login with your site account

Connect with

Login with Google Login with Linkedin Login with Amazon


Lost your password?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
The Book of Sarah The Book of Sarah
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Courses
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Courses
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Relationships
  • How to become a better friend

Relationships

12 May

How to become a better friend

  • By Sarah Wanjohi
  • In Relationships
how to become a better friend

Humans were created with an innate need for connection. Relationships are important to us. Psychology has shown the importance of relationships in our lives and how we can thrive from them. How can you become a better friend and develop healthy relationships with your friends? We can’t choose our families, but we can choose our friends. We have a great role in choosing the kind of friendships we bring into our lives.

Becoming a better friend

Show up for your friends

how to become a better friendShow up for your friends when they need you. Let them know that they can count on you. This does not necessarily have to be shown in words but in action. When you constantly show up for your friends, they know they can count on you if they need to and trust you. They know that you will always be in their corner no matter what. This forms a strong bond of friendship.

Don’t gossip about your friends

how to become a better friendYour friends trust you with their problems, it is your responsibility to hold the information that they give you in confidence. Don’t go around gossiping about your friends. This makes you look untrustworthy to others since if you can gossip about your friends, what else you can do? Should your friend know that you gossiped them, they will also lose their trust in you. Avoid talking about your friends to others and let them know that you can always hold information about them in confidence.

Check on your friends often

how to become a better friendSometimes, your friends are going through tough times and they don’t want to burden you with it. Some friends can be depressed and you interpret their silence as withdrawal from you. Often, they could be struggling with something that you are not aware of. Always check on your friends. If you notice that a week has flown by and you haven’t talked to them, check on them through a call or a visit. Maybe all that they need is to see someone make them feel that they matter.

Don’t push them to do what they don’t want to do

how to become a better friendDon’t push your friends to do something that they clearly don’t want to do. If you want to plan a friends’ vacation for example, and your friend tells you that they don’t want to, don’t force them into it. Maybe they are holding back because of their financial position at the moment. Maybe they are not in a mental state to enjoy a vacation. If you are pushing them to go for a night of dancing and drinking and they clearly don’t want to, don’t force them to do it. Respect their choices and even join them in doing what they want.

Don’t use your friends’ secrets against them

how to become a better friendWhen your friends tell you their personal information is because they trust you. Knowing this, don’t use their secrets against them. Don’t bring up stuff they told you all the time. Don’t use this information to make them feel inferior or inadequate. Don’t blackmail them or guilt-trip them into doing what you want simply because you possess some information that you can use against them. Instead, let them know that their secrets are safe with you. Even better, don’t bring it up unless your friend brings it up.

Have fun together

how to become a better friendSometimes you need to have some fun with your best buds to develop a better relationship. When you have fun, you create memories that will bond you for a long time. Take holidays together, travel together, watch a movie or a play together, and do fun activities that you have in common together. The memories you form in such time will bond your friendship for a long time.

Stay out of their relationships

how to become a better friendIf you can’t leave your friend with your significant other, then that person is not your friend. A real friend should be someone that you can trust that they can’t damage your relationship with your partner. While you can make some comments or advise your friend about certain relationships matters, most times, stay out of it. Unless your friend is being abused emotionally, physically, or such, stay out of the relationship. Don’t try to get between your friend and her partner. Don’t tell the partner bad things about your friend. Stay out of it and respect that your friend can handle their relationships responsibly.

Separate your friendship and your money

how to become a better friendMoney can hurt all kinds of relationships be it friendships, marriages, and even sibling relationships. If you can, keep your money separately. Pay for your own tab, don’t borrow from your friend unless you really have to. If you do, depending on the amount of money, you may have to sign an agreement and treat the transaction professionally. Let everyone keep their money separately and don’t let the money come between you two.

Maintain healthy boundaries

how to become a better friendNo matter how close you are, maintain some boundaries in your friendships. Maintain boundaries in personal space, money, relationships, families, and the like. Just because you are close with your friend doesn’t mean you need to meddle into her family affairs. You shouldn’t take their money because ‘they are your friends’. Healthy boundaries will help you develop stronger and better relationships with those that you love.

Avoid codependency

how to become a better friendAre you tied to the hip with your BFF? Maybe this is not a very good thing! Observe for the signs that you are in a codependent friendship. If you can’t make a decision without your friend’s input, or you make their pain your pain, you could be having a codependent friendship. If you fight all the time but can’t seem to end your friendship, watch out for that kind of dependency. If one of you is feeding off the other, and the other is exhausted with all the leeching, then that’s codependency. A healthy friendship is one in which each individual is independent and you don’t feed off each other.

Enjoy your friendships! Friendship is a beautiful thing!

Related posts:

signs you are in a codependent relationshipSigns you are in a codependent relationship dating emotional manipulatorHow to know if you are dating an emotional manipulator signs he she is trying to isolate you 8 controlling partnerSigns your partner is trying to isolate you How to stop being codependent in your relationshipHow to stop being codependent in your relationship
  • Share:
Sarah Wanjohi
Introvert, ISTP, personal development enthusiast, self-education exponent. Books, coffee, and more books. "Man’s main task is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is"- Erich Fromm

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Attract Money In Abundance

Categories

  • Books
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • mental health
  • Personal Development
  • Productivity
  • Relationships
  • Uncategorized

True Pheromones
Shop Games on Calendars.com

About Me

"Man’s main task is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is"- Erich Fromm

Hi, I am Sarah. I am passionate about transformation and I believe you can transform yourself through self education. Join me as we strive to improve our lives and make every day a masterpiece!

Useful Links

  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Shop
  • Video
  • Books
  • Personal Development

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

Recent Posts

  • How to Stop Self-Sabotaging My Relationship
  • 10 Points on Self-awareness
  • Examples of Self-awareness in the Workplace
  • Signs of Lack of Self-awareness in Relationships
  • Top 10 Books on Confidence

© 2022 The Book of Sarah

Website Design by TDS Marketers.