Why are friendships so Important? Reggie explains why we all need good friends in our lives and shares his tips on how to make lasting friendships easily.

We are social beings by nature and are meant to be around others, it is what makes us happy. Look around and see how friendships affects everyone, being social with others is something we should all make an extra effort to do. Having strong friendships and surrounding yourself with people you care for and who care for you is so important. Learning how to make good lasting friendships is something that Reggie would like to share with you today.

So how do you make friends and keep them

Hang out with those that make you feel good and that have similar interests to you. Do you find someone super easy to talk to and you feel comfortable in their presence? Then make the effort to hang around with them more and join in with their plans.

Friends can be found everywhere through new groups and clubs, daily interactions, people you go to school with, social gatherings that you have been invited to etc. Look for the people that make you feel good, that you feel you have something in common with and be brave… ask to meet again, make the first move. Accept invitations that come your way and also invite people out.

Our blog post on How to build your confidence has some great tips to help you with, if this is something that you find difficult to do.

Accept people for who they are and focus on their good qualities. Try not to be judgemental, you can still like someone if you don’t agree with absolutely everything they say or even do. We all have our own unique differences so accept theirs, focus on the good and ignore anything else, by doing this you will instantly attract a lot more people to you.

Be a good listener. This is so so important, the best friends are those that listen well. Really pay attention to what your friends are saying to you, ask questions to show that you are listening and that they have your undivided attention. Most people just need you to listen so don’t offer advice unless you are asked for it, more often than not people don’t take your advice anyway. Most of the time people feel better just by talking about things so sit back and keep the mouth shut and the ears open.

Be kind and don’t say anything to someone if you wouldn’t like it said to you, the saying think before you speak is something we should all practice as much as possible, so often we say things without thinking and land up upsetting people in the process. It is also a good idea not to gossip to others about people or tell tales because that will make it hard for people to trust you and one of main keys to a good friendship is trust. If people hear you talking badly about others it will make them think that you could be doing the same about them and no one likes to be talked about in a bad way.

Friendships have to work both ways if they are to grow strong, there has to be give and take so make an effort to be kind to them, tell them how much you appreciate and value your friendship and check in on them to see how they are doing.

Helping others is a good way to make friends, so if you see someone who is struggling ask if they would like some help. Not only that helping others actually helps you too as is will make you feel happier within yourself so it is a win win situation.

It isn’t always easy to build or keep friendships, but there are ways of making it much easier. Remember quantity is better than quality so focus on working on friendships with people that like the same things you do. Not everyone is going to like you and that is perfectly ok, walk away from those that you do not get on with and pay extra attention to those that want to spend time with you. It takes time and effort to develop good friendships but it is worth it as good friends are a gift! They help share good times with you and equally help you when you are feeling low. They can offer support and advice when you need to make big decisions in your life and can be a good sounding board for when you just need to talk things out loud.

Reggie encourages the mini magnets to use these tips when they make new friendships and would like you to try them out too.

Read Adventure in the Treetops for a story full of examples on how strong friendships helped the mini magnets rise up to another challenge.

Much Love to you

Corrina

xx