Friends – our human diary, personal therapist, and the best critics. They are the people who can be all of these in one life. If you can relate to this statement, you have got good friends in your life. Having friends in life just makes the journey easy and fun too. I still remember the first day at school when all the kids were strangers, and then came one hand, one ray of light that made my first day awkward and my school life more fun. Okay, that was a very dramatic way of describing my BFF. all i’m saying is that friends are important for survival. Infact, research says that friends are more likely to increase longevity.
After so many backstabs, I have come to the conclusion that it is very important to have real friends in life because not everyone who appears to be your well wisher is actually one. So, if you have found the real gems who have proved themselves to be real time and again, you better keep them. Well, it is very easy to have the perks of friendship, it is as difficult to maintain it. You need to cherish your friendship to keep the bond strong. It doesn’t matter if you have a long list of friends, or one – two close pals, here are some things that you can do to keep the friendship strong and take it miles long. Some very simple steps like surprise with an online flower delivery as a token of appreciation can help in creating meaningful bonds.
Take out time to connect
Though I don’t need to remind you, the basic requirement of any healthy relationship is always spare time, yet we usually forget this. The main reason for any fading friendship is when you stop spending the minimum time required for any friendship to nurture. You need to take out time for people who are important to you. If you keep them your last priority, you cannot complain if things change. It is very painful to later admit things like “ I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends” or “ I wish I had spent more time with friends” when you dont see those faces around and life is all boring again.
Be There For Each Other
I know there are friends who we talk to in months and still nothing changes. They are the best type of friends who you can claim to have a strong bond with. But you know for such friendship, you may not be regular texters, but you need to be there for each other. Staying connected over the phone when they need you or you need them is also enough to feel better when life is falling apart. I know how difficult it is to connect with pals when you have deadlines at work, meeting your family’s needs and things like that. But if you make sure that you are there in the hour of need, you have them for life.
Be A Listener
Another very important thing that makes bonds stronger is by being a good listener. You know how we sort of get impatient to tell gossips to our friends? Or when anything goes wrong in life, sharing it with them makes you feel light, right? Same goes for them as well, while they are sharing, be a good listener. Listen carefully without interrupting. Listening to people can actually bring people closer.
Be Open To Criticism
Even friendships face problems like you do with your partner or with family members. It is completely okay, but what is not okay is not accepting criticism. If you are stubborn enough not to accept your fault, the bond weakens for the obvious reasons. So, be open to feedback that your friends have to give, changing them may make you a better person to deal with.
Respect Boundaries
Ah! One thing that people often forget when they come really close to someone, is respecting boundaries. In any relationship, or friendship, no matter how close you are, always make sure that you don’t cross boundaries, it is one of the biggest reasons why relationships go sour. So, respect the boundaries and give them space and sometimes an online cake delivery as well to keep the sweetness intact.
These are some rules for friendship if you want to keep it strong.
