Everyone brings special qualities friendships—qualities that make friendships richer and stronger. The following is a list of some of these qualities —
being independent and self-sufficient
being positive, upbeat, and warm
talking about others in a positive way
being honest and dependable
doing your share of both the talking and listening
being respectful of the other person's feelings
keeping yourself clean and well-groomed
accepting your individual differences
being nonjudgmental
Activity: Make a list of the strengths you bring to your friendships or to the people in your life, including any from the list above. Give yourself credit for these positive attributes.
Creating Change. List the things you would like to work on that you think would make it easier for you to make and keep friends. Acknowledging that you want to improve and reminding yourself of this desire from time to time will create the personal change you are seeking. Ask your family members and friends to support you in these efforts. You may want to ask a health care professional for additional advice and support. Self-help books will give you ideas for creating this change.
Activity: Think of a time when you created some change in your life that made your life better.
Life circumstances that make friendships difficult. Factors over which neither you nor the other person have any control can make it difficult to be friends. You may want to be friends or closer friends, but one of these issues may get in the way —
illness
distance
stress
overwork
fear
financial problems or poverty
differences in expectations
extreme differences in interests
lack of transportation
It is important to acknowledge these difficulties, but don't give up on the friendship if you don't want to! These factors are challenging, but not impossible! Some factors must simply be accepted—such as distance, and others you can work on changing—such as fear or overwork. For example, a woman in her fifties has been very close friends most of her life with a woman she first met at camp when she was a child. Now they live in different States and their busy lives keep them from being together as much as they would like. They keep their friendship strong through weekly e-mails.
Activity: What is a life circumstance that makes it difficult to keep up with one of your friendships or with a person you know well? Using all of your creativity, write five possible ways to resolve this difficulty. If you can't think of enough ideas, ask a friends for suggestions. Then try doing one or more of these things.
Is this friendship a good idea? Sometimes it is better to avoid getting closely involved with a person or to end a friendship. You may want to stop being friends with a person if they —
share personal information about others
do all the talking and not listening
violate your boundaries
put others or you down
tease, ridicule, taunt, "badmouth" friends and family
lie or are dishonest
want you to be their friend only or want you to spend all your time with them
want to always know where you are and who you are with
don't want to be seen with you in public
ask questions that make you feel uncomfortable
ask for risky favors
are physically, emotionally, or sexually abusive
Before you end the friendship, you may want to talk about the troubling behavior. If the person stops doing it, you may be able to continue your friendship. To help you decide if you want to end a friendship, ask yourself the following questions —
Is this person always this way or just this way once in a while?
Is this person having a hard time right now that might be affecting their behavior?
Are you having a hard time right now that may be affecting your feelings and the way you see things?
Do you often enjoy this friendship or do you sometimes feel hurt?
You may be tempted to pursue a relationship with someone even though the person treats you or others badly. However, most people agree it is better not to have a certain friend than to have a person treat you badly. If the things another person says to you or does to you make you feel hurt and the person won't stop doing those kinds of things, he or she is not your friend. It is always your choice whether or not to be friends with another person. Reach out to others for information and advice, but the final decision should always be yours.
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Labels: Making And Keeping Friends
