Friends

Get By With A Little Help From Them

Our Friends – The Family We Choose.

What are they?

25 Reasons Why Friendship is Important

Further Exploration – Articles & Media

Where to Go Next On Peaceful Soul

Who are our friends?

Friends are the family we choose to surround ourselves with. Good friends can share a burden and bring a smile to our face when we’re not having a good day. Good friends will share our bad times as well as the good times.

Treat good friends well and they will more than repay the favour. 25 reasons why friendship is important and 33 ways to be a good friend below.

"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself"

Jim Morrison

25 Reasons Why friendship is Important

You know good friends. You really know who your good friends are. They are the people who make life less intimidating and a bit easier. The benefits they bring;

Allow us to be the person that we are
We can talk to them about anything (and they will give us honest feedback)
Let us know if they think something is a bad idea
Have similar interests to us
Know us inside out
The people we can turn to
Offer us a different perspective
Go through fun times together
Make us smile
People to spend time with
Our allies in times of trouble or hardship
Stop us from being lonely
Boost self-esteem
Collaborate with them in a multitude of different situations and activities
Keep us strong
We learn from them
And they learn from us
Help us to define our priorities
Help us relax and de-stress – they are in our comfort zone
Make us laugh
Friends who are in relationship can help with relationship advice (give both points of view)
We enjoy spending our time with them
Enrich our life
Boost our happiness levels
We can choose them

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

William Shakespeare

33 Ways To Be a Good Friend

Like any relationship, friendships take a bit effort but that effort shouldn’t be hard work. 33 simple ways to be a good friend below.

Put time aside to be with them
Turn up when your meant to be somewhere
Understand that they have needs as well as us. Let them talk about what’s on their mind
Take an interest in their life
Have fun & try new experiences together – Create memories that last forever
Trust them
Be trustworthy
Be open and honest with them
Apologise when you’ve screwed up
Show them the respect they deserve
Be there to lend them a hand
Listen. And really actually listen to what they are saying. Everyone has things good and bad that they want to share. Listen to them and they will repay the favour when you need someone to talk to
Encourage them – encourage their hopes and dreams
Give them helpful advice
Keep their secrets
Make them laugh
Be fun to be around
Keep your promises
Forgive them when appropriate
Let them have their space when they need it
Be happy for them when good things happen for them
Don’t let them feel left out
Disagree with them when you do (be nice about it)
Be there for them and they will be there for you
Don’t let your own issues get in the way of your friendship
Say no to them when you need to
Have deep and productive discussions
Have independence – don’t over rely on them
Don’t be envious or jealous
Be loyal to them
Let them know (in words and actions) that they can depend on you
Don’t use them
Stay in touch with them – Give an old friend a call. They will be happy to hear from you and it always brings a smile to our face when we talk about good times

You sometimes know when you don’t feel right around someone. Don’t surround yourself with negative people who bring you down in your life

Friends – A poignant lesson

We have covered 4 of the 5 regrets of the dying on other parts of this site. The final regret captured by palliative burse Bronnie Ware (article here) is below

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends