Friends To The End: Making Your Friendships Work

When we are young, we tend to make and build a million friendships that we assume will last forever. As we grow older however, we change schools, locations, jobs and mentalities; these friends begin to get fewer and fewer until we are left with just a handful of friends.

These few remaining friends will form a big part of our support system, being with us in most of the situations we find ourselves in life. Before the internet and social media became our primary source of communication, we used to be able to maintain deep friendships that could withstand the test of time- but now, meaningful friendships are becoming so rare, due to a number of reasons including ;

• procrastination (I will call him later, I will visit her next week instead of today)
• replacing actual visits and conversations with calls, texts and chats. These methods of communication are not bad, but actual visits are more appreciated and more.
• Being too busy to make an effort to keep the friendship going-or expecting the other person to make the effort

All these reasons are not good enough to allow your good friend turn into an acquaintance; we need to keep our friends close because they are the ones we turn to when we can’t turn to anyone else. For the continuity of great friendships, you should try to do these things.

• Be sure to make time for the ones you love. Sure, everyone is busy living their own lives, but it is necessary to make an effort to maintain the relationships you have built, as these people are the ones that will be there for you when you have reached an advanced age.
• Talk and listen to them. Sometimes, our friends may be going through some tough things, and all they need is someone to ask them “what’s wrong?” before they talk. Be there for them, thats what is important.
• Keep in touch with regular calls, and chats, just so that they understand that you might be busy, but you have them in mind.
• Even with busy, clashing schedules, try to plan activities together so that you can have time for bonding and unhindered talks. These activities could be a simple lunch at a restaurant, a night out on the town, a weekend trip to some fancy hotel or resort or just a sleepover at each other’s houses once in a while.

Remember this: One friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a million friends who have only seen your smile.