Friendship...Let's Get Down to the Bare Bones!

Good Morning Everyone!  

Happy Halloween Week...here's a sweet story for you...


It's a good reminder of the value of a good friend!  

In a 2014 article, Shirley Vandersteen, Ph. D., R. Psych. wrote, "Good friends are vitally important to your mental health and to the quality of your life. To live and to love are inseparable from each other. Friendship is an opportunity to love, to learn about yourself, to mature as a human being, and to open up to the full experience of life. To seek true friendship, you must have the courage to risk all that you are. You must have the courage to let another person know who you really are on the inside. On a very practical level, you must be willing to invest the necessary time and effort to develop, nourish, and maintain the bonds of a strong relationship. 

A big key to making friends is to be a friend.  Psychology Today says that there are 13 Essential Friendship Traits that you can work to cultivate in yourself:  

  1. I am trustworthy
  2. I am honest with others
  3. I am generally very dependable
  4. I am loyal to the people I care about
  5. I am easily able to trust others
  6. I experience and express empathy for others
  7. I am able to be non-judgemental
  8. I am a good listener
  9. I am supportive of others in their good times
  10. I am supportive of others in their bad times
  11. I am self-confident
  12. I am usually able to see the humor in life
  13. I am fun to be around
If you are struggling to make and keep friends, try posting these traits inside your binder, or next to your bed.  Think about them often and what each one means.  Try to imagine how you can show this trait to those around you.  As an example, to be trustworthy, you have to do what you say you are going to do by backing up your words with actions.  

I think that one of the most key traits on that list is number 8!  People want friends who listen, so if you are struggling with friendships, try listening more.  Tune into what your peers are saying, ask connecting and relevant questions, show interest in the passions of others, and show empathy when they express emotion.  People want to feel heard, so be a listener, and in return, you'll cultivate friends that listen to you!

Have a great day, Friends!

Mrs. Hempey   

  




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