Seven Tips to Make a Friendship Last
Posted: Saturday, July 12, 2008
by Jay Hopson
Lasting friendships result in a great deal of pleasure and fulfillment in life. Friends smooth out our rough edges, improve our personality, and can add a sense of gratification to our daily activities. These seven tips will help you restore old relationships as well as create lasting new ones.
- Praise where praise is due works wonders in building a lasting friendship. Simply voicing appreciation for another's qualities or actions will add value to your friendship and increase the strength of the bond between you.
- Lending a helping hand in times of need will always increase the significance of a friendship. Offering to help with a difficult task or just a ride to work when a car is broke down can be a godsend at the right time. Keep your eyes open and notice when a friend has a problem. Many people won't voice their need, but will gratefully accept help when offered.
- Make your presence felt when things aren't going well. Being available when a friend is in trouble will create a huge deposit in your friends trust account. This is not always easy and may cost you something, but a true friendship is well worth the effort. The sun will shine again and your friend may well be there for you when the situation is reversed.
- Invest time in your partnership. Just like your relationship with God or your family, companionship requires time and effort. When not other wise occupied, simply taking the time to plan a special outing or get together can convey to your partner or friend that you feel they are worth extra effort.
- With the proliferation of computers we now have the ability to email or chat with our friends at the click of a mouse. Keeping your conversations lively and interesting can be easy. Add a cute photo to that email, or include an inspiring quote from the Internet. Short and sweet conversations don't have to take much time but can multiply a sense of nearness.
- Cards and letters on holidays and birthdays now mean even more than they did when we had less forms of entertainment. Taking the time to write or send a card can make your friends day. Too often we feel it is not necessary and this is true, it isn't; but it is still appreciated when we do.
- Constructive criticism when offered in the right tone and without appearing to be judgmental can truly add value to a relationship. This is an area where we must use caution so as not to offend, but a true friend will make a suggestion when it is in a friend's best interests.
This Article has been viewed 7,364 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)Jay, these are excellent tips! I agree with them all and the one that really stands out is offering to help when you see a need. I am less prone to ask for help but more prone to receive it when offered. Another tip spills over into that, we have to pay attention to our friends to recognize changes, even if positive. Great article, sir! :)Thank you Avis. Coming from you that is really good to hear. I really admire your work and hope to write more ministry type articles myself.Jay, I'm flattered and humbled by your comments. They are appreciated so very much. All the best with your ministry type writing. I'm excited to read them.
Great article. I can really relate to the one about computers. If not for email, myspace or other internet venues, I would hardly ever speak to some of my friends and family in other parts of the country.Aren't we fortunate to have such wonders available! Thank you for your comments.
hi jay, i agree with it all, and wish it could be done by more people, more often. i try to send my friends emails with pictures, as often as i can, usually once a day. to make someone feel happy and cared about is so easy to do, if we want to. thanks for a well written, interesting article, best regards, sue thomThank you Sue, Yes, we are really blessed with some technological greetings extraordinaire (sp?) these days. But, My spell check still can't catch all my misspellings.. lol
Thank you for your comment.
Yes enjoyed it, good tips that show caring and friendship and you are awakening your inner being with your works.Thank you Robert, I am learning and growing and hope my sharing helps some.
Great article, Jay. Life would be so much simpler and more relaxed if more people would take your advice. Loving people is what it's all about.SandraThank you Sandra. I agree with you on all points
Thank you Jay,I have a friend that I simply adore and would do anything for, but living so far away, it's sometimes difficult to express how much you care about them. These ideas have reminded me of the possibilities. Thanks for your advice.Elfreda
Very good. First I didnt have even one friend, now I'll have manyThankyou.hope you find a multitude of friends
Well dne and thanks its great advice
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.