How to be a friend

Everyone needs friends. Life is simply more fun when you have friends around to share it with. Sometimes you need friends to cheer you on to an important task, stay by your side during something difficult and be there to laugh or cry with. In order to have these special people who will stick by you through the good and the bad, you will need to learn how to be a friend first. Read on to learn simple and easy steps to be a friend.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. To be a friend, you need to accept that a certain amount of your time must be committed to the development of the friendship. If you want to be a friend, you have to be willing and able to give of your time to the other person. Either by regular phone calls, emails or hanging out, time is an important aspect of being a friend.
2. Develop good listening skills. Everyone appreciates being heard and listened to. It is an especially important skill when learning how to be a friend. If a friend comes to you to talk and you listen to what she has to say, you not only improve your friendship skills but you develop a stronger bond with the other person. Good listening skills in friendship also promotes trust. Conversely, if someone comes to you to talk and you don't practice good listening skills you are not developing a bond with her and trust is affected.
3. Respect others. For example, you get a call from a new acquaintance that may develop into a friendship to meet for coffee. If you agree to the outing and then skip it because something else came up you are not showing respect for others. Chances are you have lost the opportunity to turn this new acquaintance into a friend.
4. Be honest. You want friends in your life to have fun with and to share life's changes. But if you're not willing to be honest you probably won't have these friends for very long. Honesty can be hard. Sometimes, it can feel easier to tell a 'little white lie' than the truth. Honesty is essential to any friendship. Be clear about your expectations in a friendship. If your friend does something that bothers you, tell him. But then drop it and get back to having fun.

Tips & Warnings

• Always put more into the friendship than you take from it.
• <br>Look to your friends for fun and laughs.
• <br>Give-and-take is the essence of any good friendship.
• Don't have friends just to take advantage of them.
• <br>Don't borrow money from your friends. If you do pay it right back.