Qualities in Being a Great Friend
By Jeanine Anderson
Are you the greatest friend you can be? What does being a great friend mean to you? In this article, I will give you great ways that will help you be the great friend you were meant to be.
We all have friends in our lives. Friends that we hang out with on weekends. Friends that we know through our children. Friends that we work with. Friends that have been life long. And friends that we tell everything to. Our secrets, deepest thoughts, our dreams, and even our frustrations. But what qualities make up a great friend? Here are some qualities that make up a great friend and then you can decide if you qualify as being a great friend.
First and foremost: The greatest quality of being a great friend is honesty. Honesty is something a lot of people take for granted. And if you can be honest with yourself first, then being honest with everyone else will come easy. Sometimes we think that if we just lie to save ourselves that it will get us out of an argument, or a sticky situation. However most likely that will come to bite you and you spend more time saying your sorry and making up excuses to why you lied in the first place. That's wasting to much negative energy. Honesty is still the best policy.
Second: Be YOU! So many people today are still trying to keep up with the Jones's. What's the point? Your friends love you for what's inside you, not the car you drive, or the home you live in, or the vacation spots you go to. Being yourself and loving yourself is the greatest thing you can do for you, and your friends. No one wants a friend that is half fake and half real. Friends will appreciate and respect you more if you are being you 100% of the time.
Third: Forgive your friends when they hurt you. Lets face it, we are not perfect. We all have bad days. We are all human. Being a great friend gives us the ability to know that when our friends hurt us they really don't know that they are doing it. And isn't that what being a great friend is all about,knowing that they can take their frustration out on you? When it's all said and done you are the one still standing there with open arms for comfort and advice. Forgive them even if they don't ask for forgiveness. The greatest thing about true friends is that we see beyond their imperfections, and love them anyway.
Fourth: Be a Giving friend. And give with no expectations of anything else in return. It's one thing to give, and another to give with anticipation of something in return. Being a great friend is someone who will help without the other friend asking for it. Give a gift that comes from your heart and not your ego. So many times we give because we want a pat on the back for helping someone. When we give from the heart it will feel a thousand times better.
Fifth: Don't Judge your friends. Who are we to judge anyway? We all have skeletons in the closet. We may think we know everything there is to know about our friends, but do we really? Probably not. You may sit and wonder why your friend did this or that, but until we have walked in their shoes and know what is really going on behind closed doors, don't judge them. I'm sure you have done things that you would not really want everyone to know about. So give the same respect to those who you call friends.
In the end what makes up a great friend is what you put into your friendship. Being a true friend is not something that is part time. However it's being all of these qualities all of the time and not just when you feel like it.
Your friends will ultimately love you and respect you if you put these qualities to use and be the friend you are meant to be!
No comments:
Post a Comment