What Makes a Friend a Friend?

Who is a friend?

• A friend is someone close to you that has impacted your life positively or negatively.
• A friend is someone you love and who loves you, someone you respect and who respects you, or someone whom you trust and who trusts you.
• A friend is a person who you know well and who you like a lot, but who is usually not a member of your family.

There are two (2) main categories of friends, that is, good friends and bad friends.

Qualities of a Bad Friend

These are red flags you need to look out for;

• Bad friends have a bad influence. They can encourage you to take part in risky activities or behavior that makes you uncomfortable. 
• Bad friends constantly put themselves before you.
• Bad friends bully and belittle

Qualities of a Good Friend

Having a clue of the several qualities of a good friend can help you appreciate your present relationships and make new, meaningful connections. Some of these qualities are:

• Integrity – A good friend has strong moral principles, knows the difference between right and wrong, and acts or speaks when principles are violated.
• Dependability – You can call ‘dependability’ the middle name of a good friend. Good friends keep to promises, show up, stand up for you, and many others.
• A good friend is loyal
• A good friend has empathy for others
• A good friend is a good listener
• They have a transmittable confidence
• Spending time with a good friend can make you feel good

Mental Health Benefits of Having Friends

These are the few benefits you can derive from having good friends:

• It boosts happiness
• It elevates your self-confidence
• It decreases loneliness
• It reduces stress
• It improves problem-solving abilities
• It gives a higher life satisfaction

Who is your friend? Is your friend impacting your life positively, or negatively, or are you the one always imparting to them? 

Friends have the power to affect your mindset, character, and level of achievement. So, choose your circle of friends wisely.

You can choose to have friends that impact positively your life physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, financially, academically, etc. These sets of friends can catapult you to a level you never expected. Yeah, think about it.