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| ::::the yellow rose symbolizes friendship:::: |
My post today is going to detail the benefits of friendship and how to work at maintaining good friendships. I guess I will just start by bulleting some benefits I learned about during my recent “Friend Me” session at church.
- Stress relief
- Shared conversation
- Inspiration
- Understanding
- Fun
- Advice
- Kindness
- Heart felt laughter
- Hugs
- Build self-esteem – this is one of my fav.’s and so, so true! Think about this, when your down, who do you go to? Your friends to help you feel better about yourself!!! They will do this in one way or the other.
- AND SO MANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!
There are lots of ways to go about meeting new friends – the big ones:
1-work (proven that if you have at least 1 friend at work, you will like your job more)
2- church
3- professional associations
4- social groups.
Sometimes you have to step outside your box to meet friends. I am very outgoing and this is A HARD one for me. I remember the first person I met in my first class at TCU. I walked into my first class and sat down and the girl next to me was so outgoing! She was like, “Hi, I’m *****” – I was so taken back and loved it all at the same time. She was my first friend at TCU and we are still in touch today. We both transferred in to TCU as juniors and were brand new to a whole new environment. I struggled academically in college and she kept me alive, seriously – this girl is so smart and I am so thankful for her! God placed her in my life for a reason and I hope I returned the favor in some way. We are both married now and attended each other’s weddings and of course stay in touch through facebook! We have grown and moved to different cities, she has a baby, etc. but I think we both know the sincerity of our friendship and know we will always stay in touch forever.
On the contrary, think about your child hood friends – do you even remember how you became friends? I honestly don’t remember the ways we met from way back! The ones that come later in life you may remember more clearly, but they are the same type of special! My best friend – I literally wrote her a note asking if I could be a soccer manager with her? I guess I was asking if we could be friends when you get right down to it! I AM GLAD I DID IT! She “approved” me for a soccer manager and the rest is history! Lol!!!!
I am trying to think of the best way to go about this blog post and I think it will be a little here and there, but I resort back to the bullet list – easy to read and write! Here are some great ways to work at maintaining good friendships.
- Go the extra mile with your friendships – think about what your friends like best, not what you like best. Example – does your friend appreciate a hand written note more, a dinner date or phone call?
- If your friend has a flaw that drives you crazy, look at the other qualities that you love about them. If you can truly not handle those small (or large) flaws then maybe that friendship is not quality like you might need and that’s ok. You have to hold them to different standards. Different type of friend – ya know? You would hope that they would return the same actions and you are both on the same page, otherwise – one of you might get hurt.
- Focus on ways in which you can be a better friend.
- Prayer for your friends – in turn, you need to know what to pray for.
- Don’t retreat from difficult conversations – true friends should be able to have the difficult conversations and get through them together. In turn, making each of your better! All about bettering myself as you know… B is for Bettering Myself Blog Post.
- Make time for your friends! We are all busy! But, you have to make time for your friends. This is good for them and you. Don’t let this crap get in the way… “it’s hard to stay friends – we are not ______” in college anymore, you don’t have kids, your single and I’m married, blah blah blah. True friends will make and find time for each other no matter what.
- Don’t give up on others.
- Find out what your friends value in a friendship and make sure your friends know what you value most as well. Mine? LOYALTY!!!
I am going to end today’s post with one thing I take to heart. Be friends with different types of people. Different types of people will bring the best out of you in ways you may not even realize. Don’t be quick to stereotype people – they could end up a great friend to you and a huge asset to your life!
Post #3 Coming Soon!
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