What makes a good friend?
This Sunday we will be celebrating World Friendship Day as we know how important it is to have good friends in your life. Are you a good friend to your close network? What makes a good friend? We think these are some of the top 7 traits to have to be a good friend:
- Trust. Your friends need to know they can trust you. Which means you can keep their deepest secrets and not tell a soul! It’s so important to have a good friend who you can talk openly to and feel comfortable being around. A breach in trust can ruin a relationship and you may never get that trust back.
- Honesty. So if your friend puts an outfit on and asks your opinion, you can be the one to tell them it doesn’t suit them! You need to be able to speak openly from the heart and mean everything that you say. They say that sometimes the truth hurts, but your friends will respect you for it in the long-run. Remember there’s a nice way to be honest too – you don’t want to hurt your friends.
- Loyalty. Friends need to be able to count on you to be there when you say you will be. You need to stand up for your friends and not let them down, especially if something better comes along. It’s really not worth it – a good friend is for life!
- Good listener. Remember a relationship is not one-sided. Sometimes our friends just need a good shoulder to cry on or need to run something by you for advice. Remember to be non-judgemental and try to see the situation from both sides – don’t let your emotions affect your advice.
- Supportive. This means to be helpful, sympathetic and encouraging. Celebrate their good fortunes and comfort them in bad times. Accept their choices even if they are different to our own – they may not be doing things how you like them to be done but they need to know you support their decisions.
- Caring. Do little things to show your friends that you care. Remember important events, phone them up for a quick chat or make an effort to spend quality time with them to catch up on all the gossip. Display acts of kindness and let them feel loved.
- Fun. It’s always nice to be around somebody who is good fun. Whether that person makes you laugh or smile, or just oozes positivity in life situations. It can be a good mood booster to be around somebody that generally enjoys life and doesn’t take it too seriously.
The friends that you surround yourself with help build and shape you into the person you are, as you help shape them into the people they are too. Life can be tough and it’s nice to know you have somebody who will make you feel better or listen to your problems if you need them. Or even just to cheer you up and make you smile!