New friendships are tough. Period! There is no written rulebook as to how you should go about making friends and what actions should ensure that would help in breaking the ice and building ever-lasting friendships. There are, however, small things that you could do, which could go a long way in establishing a concrete foundation of trust, goodness, and kindness and making friends for life.
Here is a list of things, you could/should be doing if a long-term friendship is on your mind-
Show some interest in their lives
Nobody is fond of a friend who is self-absorbed and narcissistic by nature. A simple “What up” text or a “Are you fine, did you reach home safely?” is a warm way of saying you care and no matter how busy your schedule is, you shelled out time, scrolled down a chat window of over 50 messages and texted your friend; this could just serve as the first step of a lifelong friendship. Be genuinely interested in what they are doing, and ask them about their job at times, their family, and life before you both cross paths!
Understand the thin line between joking and mocking
It is a fun practice to roast your friends and be each other’s comfort place but it is also imperative that you understand your friend’s insecurities and things that might end up hurting them. Try not to bring things up in public that might cause them to enter into a loop of self-doubt, be wary of small details that they might have confided in, at some point in life, and steer conversations accordingly.
Do small acts of kindness
If you’re in school/college, you can keep a seat for them in class; if you’re work buddies, you can share something during lunch; if you are neighbors, you can, maybe, receive parcels on each other’s behalf, if you travel together in public transport, you can share music playlists - the point being, people forget everything but they never forget how you made them feel and these small acts of kindness will instill a very strong sense for belongingness with each other.
Do not pretend to be someone else for the sake of friendships
It is a known fact that you want to impress your friend and want him/her to think highly of you but for the sake of impressions, you should never put on a facade. Be your true self so that there remains no air of superiority-inferiority between the two of you; the friendship should reek of innocence and purity
Remember small details about each other
Paying attention to detail is a non-verbal way of saying you want the friendship to last and are into each other’s lives. It is basically enjoying the moments that sound insignificant but actually affect the person a lot. It is remembering birth dates, names of pets, the anniversary of parents, comfort movies, favorite ice cream tub, pet peeves, guilty pleasures, crazy childhood memories and so much more.
Do not run from conflicts or dissimilar opinions about issues
When you’re starting friendships, you will realize that there are things you both don’t agree upon - this might range from different flavors of ice cream to having different favorite music genres, you might be a party animal and your friend might like staying indoors, you might be a mountain person while your friend might be a beach bum; the important thing is to not sulk about differences and embrace the glorious mess that both of you are!
About the Author
"Sharanya is a business aficionado by education, an emotional fool at heart, and a hopeless romantic by nature. I like to read, write and develop unhealthy obsessions with fictional characters, food and songs. In my free time, I like to play the ukulele!
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