Healthy friendships are so important to have. They affect our business lives, relationships, future, and more!
Choose friends that share your values, trust them and talk openly about issues.
When you get better at developing friendships, you will also get better at connecting with business prospects, so it's a worthwhile activity to learn how to create friendships as someone who is also building a business (as most of my entrepreneur readers are).
The importance of healthy friendships cannot be understated when looking at mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, which are often caused by difficult people in our lives who upset us without meaning too, or those who may even bully us into submission.
However, there is also the question of how people go about finding good friends in the first place.
It's said that people aren't looking for friends, they are just looking for two things; someone to talk to or hang out with, and somebody like them.
Striking up a conversation can sometimes get the ball rolling, but what if you don't want to engage in a deep discussion straight away? What happens if you get stuck in the 'small talk' rut?
It's good to start with a topic that you can identify with.
What are your interests, for example, what do you like to do in your spare time? You might want to ask them about their tastes too and see if they like anything similar.
You might want to suggest meeting up at a place that you can both enjoy such as a movie, festival, or sporting event.
If there's no obvious connection there, you could bring up something relevant but in an amusing way.
Next up, you might want to broach a bit of controversy.
You don't have to be controversial yourself, but you can talk about topics that are. Try not to offend anyone though and reserve your opinion for when you're with those who share your views. This will help you to bond with people that are like-minded, as well as offering a safety net should the topic become heated or uncomfortable.
This is all good and well but how do you actually make friends once you've met someone who fits your bill?
To begin with, it's important to keep an open mind and not be in such a rush to make friends that you don't value the person for who they are.
If nothing else, becoming their friend means that you'll have somebody to hang out with on occasion and it's important to be able to do things alone sometimes.
You could even suggest activities together or go places because you want to be able to do them with company, not because you want a friend at all costs.
If they are receptive to the idea of hanging out then that's good! Just make sure that you keep in contact with them so that it doesn't fade off into nothingness.
Remember though, if someone is overly persistent or complains about you not being their friend then it's probably best to move on. It will only end in hurt feelings all round, especially if they're genuinely not your type of person.
Ideally, you'll become friends with people that you like and who like you (perhaps even love a little bit!).
They should be able to take pride in knowing that you like them but are not dependent on your friendship.
They shouldn't need to have you there to be happy or feel loved. So long as they're the right people then that's what matters and it should develop naturally through spending time together.
As you learn to show yourself friendly and create healthy friendships, you'll get better over time and find that you have people who you can grow with through life.
These people will raise you up with times get tough and be there for you through thick and thin.
That's the sign of a healthy friendship.