If you’re a hugger, ask your friend whether it’d be okay to hug them. You’ll then know what they find helpful during tough times, and you can offer them support in a way that’s genuinely helpful. If you’re worried about someone and you want to be there for them, ask them what they need. Being interested in what they’re going through shows you care, and that you plan to stick around no matter what’s going on. If your friend has a medical or mental health issue, a good way to offer support is to learn about what they’ve been diagnosed with. You don’t have to have all the answers, and don’t assume that your friend wants advice – they might just want to talk so that they can work it out for themselves. Ask questions to get a sense of the problem or issue, but the main thing is to listen to them. Try to understand a situation from your friend’s point of view.
#GO TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT. HOW TO#
But it’s not always easy to know how to be there for your friends. If you treat the people around you in the ways described above, then you’re already a good friend to them.
![go tell your friends about it. go tell your friends about it.](https://c.tenor.com/KDLTJPlkcyYAAAAM/tell-all-your-friends-spread-the-word.gif)
![go tell your friends about it. go tell your friends about it.](https://files.liveworksheets.com/def_files/2020/10/23/1023123800539322/1023123800539322001.jpg)
This way you will make new friends whose lifestyle encourages yours. Do the things you love regardless of whether your friends enjoy them or not. You don’t need their consent to cultivate it. Let them know that you have different interests. If it doesn’t sit well with you, don’t pretend that it does. They’ll turn to you to strengthen their arguments, back them up or accompany them to things that everyone else has the sense to turn down.īe honest (without being rude) about how you feel about certain things. You may think it is easier and consumes less energy to simply agree and move on, but all you’re doing is creating the opportunity for your friend to seek you out whenever they need someone to agree with them. Don't Downplay the Things You Don't Have in Common
![go tell your friends about it. go tell your friends about it.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/e1fecbbb-fdb5-493b-992b-d6063816f0a5-151017220853-lva1-app6892/95/you-get-your-friends-where-and-when-you-can-1-638.jpg)
Let your friends know that your mindset has changed, and you’re not sorry for it because you value personal growth and progress. It is easy to give in with responses such as, “Yeah, I know, it will probably never happen anyway” or “you’re right, we should just stick to this.”ĭon’t apologize for having dreams, having an open mind, changing your mind, or wanting more. They may discourage you from growth by encouraging you to remain with the ideals you have maintained as a group over the years. Groupthink can be one of the most detrimental things to individual progress within friendships. Stop Apologizing for Thinking Differently While you may feel guilty about breaking up with friends because you’ve had them for so long, you might have to admit that their attitudes are holding you back from the progress and optimism you need. When you’re working toward a specific goal, you know there are certain types of people you would rather not have in your life. Or it could be those friends who we enjoyed sitting in the sandbox with while talking about our imaginary jobs and romantic partners who don’t understand that, 20 years later, you’re not really into sitting in the sandbox anymore. Most people would think that any sane person should never have this friend in their lives anyway who befriends people who bring them down anyway? But let’s face it, there are some people who have been included in our lives almost without our permission, like our family friends that we all consider to be as close as siblings, or those friends that come out of nowhere and tug at our humanity by always being in need (we can’t just turn them away right?)