What does it mean to you to be a real, true friend? Is it checking in on your friend when you have time? Is it making time to keep a friendship? Being a true friend can have different viewpoints to everyone.
It’s very important to have a real friend in your life. Someone who cares about you checks in on you and makes sure you’re okay. They know what you mean behind the “I’m okay” statement you make so often. They are really there for you, even when you say you don’t want it.
An important key to finding a real friend is to become one. You need to show the people in your life just how much you care. Show your friend that you care about how they are feeling and what they are going through. For some, this can be a simple text and for others a drop-by visit.
Earning your friend’s trust is key to keeping the friendship long term. They need to know they can count on you being there no matter what happens in life. A bad friend, for example, will blame the other person. They might even do this without realizing it.
A bad friend will also only spend time with the other when it’s convenient for them. Being selfish in a friendship will put a major strain and cause tension. Nobody wants to be friends with someone who only cares about themselves. We all want to feel loved, needed and appreciated.
You’ll have to distinguish between when they are silly and serious. If not, this can lead to a fight. Be honest with your words. Let them in, this is huge! If I know you’re going through something, but you won’t let me help then I feel like you don’t really care about the friendship.
A lasting friendship is one of life’s greatest blessings. I’ve been blessed to have my best friend for 9 years! Looking back on growing up together, it wasn’t always smooth. We had our fights and yelled at each other. We threatened to end the friendship and a couple of times even did.
Throughout all of it though, we never truly left one another. Eventually, we overcame our disagreements and took steps to improve our friendship. To keep a friendship you’ll need to realize that you’ll both grow and change as time moves on. Be flexible and don’t hold each other to super high standards that will most likely disappoint you.
A true friend loves you when you aren’t loveable. Like animals do, they love you no matter what. No matter how you change, what you like and the decisions you make. It’s not easy to be so loving during change but you will know who really cares when you hit rock bottom and they pick you up.
We all need to put in the work it takes to keep our friendships strong. Don’t blame the other person for things you aren’t doing yourself. May we be fortunate enough to find these friendships and blessed enough to keep them.
All my love,
Talesha