What I Learned About Friendships on GrowthDay
It’s complicated
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Friendships are probably one of the hardest types of relationships going. (Correction all relationships are equally difficult.) We have friends that we had for a period of our life, but something changed causing the friendship to end. We have lifelong friends that we enjoy being with no matter how long it has been. We have friends that help us grow to our next level, and we support them in their journey. We have friends for specific parts of our lives (sports, activities, work, everyday life).
All of August, the coaches on GrowthDay talked about friendships. Each coach gave their own advice on maintaining and growing friendships. To sum everything up in one sentence: Friendships are hard because like any type of relationship they require time and effort and novelty.
Here are a five things I learned on GrowthDay in August about friendships
1. Show Up.
If it matters to you, you will find time to do it. And you will remember to do it. You don’t have to commit to every meet-up but when you do — show up.
Don’t just show up physically. Show up mentally as well. If you are having coffee with a friend and are still thinking about work or the to-do list. You are not present with them. Pay attention to them and ask different questions to start a new conversation topic. Do something that will bring your mind to the present moment.
If you and your friend from high school still talk about the same stories from high school, then ask a question about something other than high school. Maybe tell a story about something that happened in high school that still influences how you do something today.
Jenna Kutcher talked about that in her call on friendships. As she simply put it → challenge them. Ask questions like how can I help you? Or I have this problem right now. Do you have any advice? Mix up the conversation pattern so you both can get more out of it.
Showing up doesn’t always mean spending time together. It also means showing up through messages and…
