Being A Better Best Friend

loon mountain yoga friendAre you a great friend?  Do you have a friend that you consider your “best”?  One of my goals in 2015 is to be a better friend.  I found a few great articles about this and decided I’d share some of the great ideas I found.  I can’t promise I’ll be able to do all of these all of the time, but I’ll work on getting an A for effort.

A few simple phrases are often all it takes to increase your friend skills!  Compliments, genuine compliments, are almost always a great way to be a good friend.  (They also help build confidence during yoga class!) “You are so good at…” is a simple statement but can make someone’s day.  Not only does this provide them with immediate feedback, it is something that will play over in their head the rest of the day or perhaps the whole week.  Giving a friend the positive affirmation and compliments they deserve can go a long way.

We all like to be heard and I mean really heard.  A good friend not only asks to hear the whole story, but follows up at a later time to get the rest of the story. (Insert your favorite Paul Harvey story here!)  A dear friend of mine is great at telling the whole story as she is a very detailed and focused person.  Allowing (or requesting of) her to tell the whole story with all the details lets her know that I care about her full experience and allows her to be fully heard.  It is a win-win for us both.

We all need a little support now and then.  This is one of the benefits of friendship.  The good and bad.  The ups and downs.  Asking your friend how they need to be supported is a great way to break through the “tough-guy” personal and allow your friend to be vulnerable and accept your help.  Friendship is giving and receiving and even the most giving of us need to “take” a little now and then.  Accepting and offering (providing) help and support to our friends is a big part of the relationship.

Here’s to building better friends in 2015!

Leave a Comment