How to: Know When You're Besties
Hello, all lovely readers it’s Makana here!
We discussed in the first article in the series titled How to: Develop Long Lasting Friendships and it explained that it took a long time for us to learn about each other, before we could become best friends. We present to you the most special, strongest, scintillating tips that have lasted us a friendship and will help you become besties. This article will make you the buffest besties on the block (only if that’s what you’re going for, of course.) Just like phone brands have upgrades and are always improving, friendships should be doing the same. We’ll help you upgrade your friendship to the iPhone XR (or was it XS?) and throw out that old iPhone.
Makana and Sage
Know How Your Friend Communicates
This is important, because if you don’t know how to react to their unique communication then you are a lost cause and this will lead you to nuclear warfare. Oops.
So while it might not be a nuclear war, it sure seems like it when you are in a heated argument. I’m positive we’ve all been in a situation where someone has gotten upset over a misunderstanding. The first way to start catching on to their language is to spend a lot of time with them. This seems like a no brainer, but some don’t use their time wisely, like you doing all the talking, and your friend not getting a word in edgewise. Spending a ton of time together, but failing to talk (or to talk evenly) does not equal improved or upgraded BFF status, which is what we are aiming for. Another thing to look for, is body language, this can help you determine if they actually meant what they said or if they were just joking. Body! Language! Is! Important! Make sure you keep your body language open to your friend, so they feel like they can trust you. Moving on: Always check your message before you hit send, because what sounds funny to you, might sound vicious to them. Also 20 people are victims of auto-correct every minute, the epidemic is spreading. Check your messages before you send.
Bonus: This not only helps with becoming best friends with someone but it helps with life in general.
Must Have Equal Give and Take
There is one last tip that we should always remember: Constantly evaluate how you and your friend treat each other. You might find that there is an unequal balance. If that happens and you are working for them, remember best friends are supposed to give and take equally. You shouldn’t be a slave to one another. If they mean more to you, than you mean to them, you might get taken advantage of. Toxic friendships exist and can be devastating when you realize what’s happening. They blow you off for other friends, talk over you, criticize you constantly, and make you walk on eggshells to please them. Toxic friendships aren’t true friendships. If you see any of these signs in your friend, please take the time to really contemplate what they mean to you, and how their actions are affecting you. If they are toxic, you don’t need them in your life.
Now, if you find that they are the ones always coming to you, texting you first, and making time for you, and you don’t often reciprocate, now is the day to return the favor. People’s time is precious, as is yours, so make time for them and they should make time for you. Real friends want to invest in each other.
To conclude, with A Sage Conclusion: The big takeaway from this article is to be constantly working to upgrade your friendship. You can do this by improving communication, understanding, and giving equal amounts of effort. True friends are rare, but once you find them, you are gonna want to keep them. Sage Out.