4 Important Friendship-Feeding Habits (Page 2)

3. Listen to your friend and validate their feelings.
When your friend is sharing a problem with you, you most likely want them to feel better. This could lead to you trying to “fix” the problem for them. However, usually what they want and need is for you to listen and validate that you understand what they are going through. With our busy lives, it’s sometimes hard to truly listen to someone. To be an active listener requires you to focus all of your attention and energy on that one task; however, it is well worth it. A point to remember during this process is to leave judgment out of the equation. True friends don’t judge; they let their friends know that they support them. Your friend might just need to share the problem in order to come to her own conclusions.

4. Be there for your friend in the good times and the bad.
Let’s be honest here. Sometimes, it’s easier for us to be there for our friends when they’re down than it is when everything is going stellar for them. You know why? It’s a little thing called jealousy. It grabs ahold of you and it’s hard to shake. At times it’s downright embarrassing to us, but at some point, it happens to everyone. Here’s a tip: acknowledge your feelings and work through them. It is normal to feel envy when your life is having a downturn and your friend’s life is soaring. Accept your feelings and move on. Eventually, the tables will be turned and you will appreciate the support.

I believe we all can agree that our friendships are very, very important to us. I encourage you to take an honest look at YOU and your friendships and make the changes needed to be an exceptional friend.

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Read more: College Life, Community, Friendship, Fun, Life, Love, friends, good friend

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Kate S.

2:45AM PST on Feb 27, 2013

GREAT TIPS- TY

February 27
send a green star

Dale O.

1:08AM PST on Dec 21, 2012

Friends are treasures and delights who help keep the darkness away and share the joys of life.

December 21
send a green star

Roger M.

1:03AM PST on Dec 21, 2012

Very good, Thanks.

Beth G.

11:19AM PDT on Oct 20, 2012

Up until this past Wednesday afternoon I thought I had a really good email friend, to whom we have been emailing back and forth almost daily for atleast 8 yrs or more...Two years ago, she lost her husband and I sent her my sincere thoughts to her and then mentioned to her that she was lucky that he did not suffer at the end. Well 6 months later give or take she met a gentleman and now she is in a relationship with him. They are not living together but see each other quite often, go on trips, etc...She is a senior like me and he too. They have had a few disagreements and she at one time or another felt he was trying to control her to which she did point all this out to him. Anyhow she would email me with my advice or opinion and I would give it to her, but it was only my opinion, bottom line she was the one to make the decision and I did mention this to her. I was a friend who gave support who listened...I have my own issues to deal with. Anyhow during the last two weeks she found fault in everything I wrote to her...she would see that I made spelling errors, I would screw up the word do, and due many a time and she pointed this out to me in a very opinionated and critical way. I put up with this over the years I must have a mental block with those two words, I had over the course of time told her that I had trouble explaining things in writing and hoped she had understood what I said or meant. Then her emails became quite nasty towards me and then I stood my ground an