We all want to have true friends, but the quality of our friends depend on us. If you want to have true friends, you should be a true friend yourself. By being a true friend, people will love to be around you and many of them will eventually become your true friends.
In addition, being a true friend is a good way to solve relationship problems. It’s difficult to change other people, but you can always change yourself. You can then solve the otherwise unsolved problems in relationships.
It may take years to learn how to be a good friend but here are a few tips:
1. Befriend yourself
This is an essential first step if you are to be a true friend. If you don’t even accept yourself, how can you accept others? You may have made mistakes in the past that you can’t forget. But forgive yourself for them. You perhaps don’t have the traits you want in life. But accept yourself as you are.
2. Accept others
After you befriend yourself, you will be in a good position to accept others. Other people may do you wrong or have some bad habits you don’t like. But you are not perfect yourself so there is no reason for you not to accept them.
3. Make time
Sometimes we are too busy to provide time for relationships, even for important people in our life. That most likely happens because we put relationships too low in our priority list. If we regard relationships as high priority, time won’t be a problem. We will make time for relationships.
4. Be a good listener
The art of listening is one of the most difficult arts to master. A true friend is a good listener.
5. Enrich others’ life
A true friend provides value to others. If you want to do that, you should live a lifestyle of value. This way you amass value in your life you can then distribute to others.
6. Understand first
Everyone looks at life through his own lens. Often we expect others to see life through the same lens as ours, but that will create a lot of problems. A true friend is someone who is willing to look through other people’s lenses first. He tries to understand why they think and act that way.
7. Find common ground
Finding common ground helps you connect with new friends quickly. The common ground allows you to talk to others about something they are interested in and thereby build relationships with them.
8. Be interested
If you want to be interesting you should first be interested. Be curious. Cultivate interest about many things. If you do that, you can genuinely be enthusiastic when people talk to you about something. People will feel appreciated and love to be around you.
9. Take initiative to help
A true friend doesn’t wait until someone asks his help. Instead, he takes the initiative to help others. This, of course, is easier said than done. To do this, you should be on the lookout for needs. Be sensitive. Often you can find others’ needs through what they implicitly say. You may also see it through their body language. When you sense a need, think about how you can help them and take the initiative to help.
10. Trust others
If you treat others as good and trustworthy people, they will also treat you likewise. People will feel how you believe in them and they will be touched by your sincerity.
11. Know the right time to do things
A true friend knows the right time to praise, the right time to listen, and the right time to rebuke and when to come and when to stay away. A true friend masters the art of timing.
12. Have integrity
Integrity is the foundation of true friendship. Be sure that you do what you say. You can only build true friendship if you are true to yourself and others.
13. Be present in difficult times
This is the test of true friendship. Only true friends will choose to be with you in difficult times. So, to be a true friend, be with your friends in their dark moments. Be with them even if you need to let go your own convenience.
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