How To Keep Friends

"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold..."  Many know of this quote, but few keep it as a mantra in their daily lives. Friendships made in our younger years can last a lifetime, though it seems, more often than not that friendships drift apart with age, distance and time. Here's how to reconnect, rekindle, and keep those relationships important to you.

1. Invest Your Time and Interest. The difference between a friendship and an acquaintance usually comes down to time. An acquaintance is someone you say hello to on your way to your desk, or after school picking up your children. Perhaps you attend the same functions. Friendship involves much more than that. Learning each other's interests, goals, personality, and lifestyle takes time. Without this investment into the value of your friendships, you're back to the acquaintance stage.
2. Communication Strengthens Bonds. Humans communicate in various ways: voice, expression, posture, even mood. The closer you and your friend become, the more easily both will be able to recognize the myriad ways that you both communicate. This recognition makes it easier to share ideas and time with each other without always looking for "filler." "Filler" consists of small talk mainly, something acquaintances become quite adept at. With a friend, every phone call, cup of coffee, play date with the kids, night out at the local club, even road trip, becomes imbued with more than simply sharing space. Communicating clearly with your friends is bonding at its most basic.
3. Be Committed to Friendship. A true friend is there for you in good times and bad…perhaps especially bad! A true friend does not judge you, but advises when necessary, and helps you strengthen your relationship and confidence in yourself, as well as with them. Long lasting relationships involve sacrifice at times, but a friend will not see it that way. Support and dependability are two marks of a relationship that will be there for the long haul. If we cannot commit to our closest friends, why would they want to expend that energy with us?

A close friend is much more than that word describes. They become family--holidays, special occasions, milestones, life changing events; all are shared with friends standing by. These events change who we are at our cores, and strong friendship keeps up with it all.