A friend is someone you trust and with whom you share a deep level of understanding and communication. A good friend will: Show a genuine interest in what's going on in your life, what you have to say, and how you think and feel. Accept you for who you are.
A true friendship is defined by knowing someone has your back, no matter what. A good friend will watch out for you and ensure you are safe, feel supported, and are loved. A good friend will never purposely lead you into making decisions or taking actions that aren't good for you.
There are many characteristic of a good friend, but for me the most important is to be honest, responsible, and kind.
For example, being honest, encouraging, non-judgemental, dependable, and humorous are great qualities that would attract any friend. This article will outline the basic qualities that you should look for when scouting for new friends. These qualities might even help you to examine and improve yourself!
Healthy friendships and relationships also mean learning to respect and trust each other. People respect each other for who they are. People may disagree with each other. But with respect and trust, they can talk about how they feel and work things out.
True friendships are admittedly rare, but they are possible if you know how to be one yourself and what to expect from others you want to call friends.
They're genuinely interested in your life and are absolutely not judgemental. Genuine friends are ones who want to know 'what you're up to these days'. Not to judge you or compare their life to yours or to size themselves up against you, but simply due to an authentic interest in your life.
A different way of categorizing friendship is by applying “The Three C's”. There are three basic types of people with whom you interact: Constituents, Comrades, and Confidants.
Trustworthiness is comprised of several components, including honesty, dependability, and loyalty, and while each is important to successful relationships, honesty and dependability have been identified as the most vital in the realm of friendships.
A close friend is someone you rely on and can trust, but a best friend is a person with whom you share everything. The key distinction is that level of friendship shared by two best friends is greater than two close friends.
One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood. – Seneca.
Jealousy is normal and doesn't have to spell the end of your friendship — but you do need to deal with it. Jealousy in friendships isn't just normal, but also common. As much as you may hate to admit it, odds are there have been times in your life when you've been jealous of your friends.
Obviously, most people don't meet all of their friends during childhood and, unfortunately, not all friendships last forever. The poll found that the average friendship lasts for 17 years, however, 17 percent say they've had the same best friend for over 30 years!
There's no “right” number of friends you should have, but research says most people have between 3 and 5 close friends. Friendship is necessary, but it can feel challenging to find people who really “get” you. What's more, what you need from your friends might change as your life circumstances change.
They make you feel bad about yourself.
A fake friend is not going to uplift you the way a true friend does. Leeds says that when you're around this person, "you may feel insecure, used, or judged." Sometimes, nothing even has to be explicitly said, but you can undoubtedly feel their judgment or disapproving looks.
As adults, our friendships need to be more than what they were as kids or as teenagers. Our friendships should show us trust, forgiveness, gratitude, honesty, support, commitment, and respect.
Though every bond evolves in its own way, I have come to believe that there are six forces that help form friendships and maintain them through the years: accumulation, attention, intention, ritual, imagination, and grace.