People have a tendency to only focus on the negative side of things. They look for ways to identify false friends, toxic individuals, people who try to take advantage of them. But what about the true friends, the people who are actually good to and for you? Can you also identify the signs of a true friendship?
10 signs of a true friendship that is made to last
A true friendship is normally associated with a long time span, the childhood friends that stuck by one’s side all along. But reality can be very different. It’s not about the time you have known each other or spent with each other. It’s about the connection, the relationship that links you together.
1. They meet you halfway
You never feel like you’re the one always reaching out to talk or to plan a meeting. Likewise, you never feel like your friend is always trying to arrange something. Today you might be the one making the first contact, and tomorrow it will be your friend.
You simply don’t keep tabs on each other because everything just comes naturally.
2. You celebrate your victories together
When you achieve an important goal or managed to do something important and hard for you, that friend immediately comes to your mind. That’s the person you want celebrating with you because you also feel that your friend will be truly happy too!
And it works both ways. You rejoice every time your friend achieves something as if it was your own victory. You want to celebrate it with them and they want you to do it too.
3. And you cry together too
When one is feeling down, the other is right there. Your friend is always there in the darkest hours to support you, to listen to you, to cry with you, to cheer you up or to put some sense into your head. Whatever is needed.
You are also always there for them without even questioning it. You don’t feel annoyed or bored that they are not their fun selves. Instead, you worry about them. You wonder how they are feeling, if they need anything and about what you can do to help them.
4. They telling it as it comes, but stick around
If you want to look for signs of a true friendship look no further than their lies. A true friend won’t sugar coat it, they will tell you how things are right away because they have only one thing in mind: your well-being.
They also expect you to expect nothing but the truth from them because that’s the way they see your relationship. However, even when you choose to ignore their advice, they will still keep by your side. They will accept it and simply make sure to be there to celebrate in case they were wrong, or to support you if things go amiss.
You still might hear a “I told you so”, but it’s not a happy one. It’s more of a “I told you so, you fool, now we’re both sad and worried!”
5. Procrastination 101
One of the most distinctive signs of a true friendship is procrastination. You might plan one thousand things to do the next time you get together but when the time comes, you’ll just stay put. You meet for a coffee before going to do some fun activity and 4h later you still sitting in the same spot and you are nowhere close to finishing your talk.
The opposite also happens. You can just sit quietly watching a movie or playing on your phone. The point is, you don’t feel any pressure to act in a certain way or to break the silence. Being side-by-side with your friend is enough.
6. You share secrets no one else knows about
You’ve been together through good and bad moments. You’ve seen each other at your worst and at your best, so you’re bound to know secrets about each other that no one else does, because…
7. There’s no judgment
You don’t censor yourself when you’re together. You don’t watch what you say for fear of what the other might think. When a friendship is for real, you know you can be your true self and you expect the other to feel exactly the same because you don’t judge either.
You also don’t try to justify your feelings. Instead, you put them out there and try to figure out together where their stem from and what you can do about them.
8. Distance has no power over your friendship
Even if you live far away from one another and can barely see each other in the flesh, it doesn’t matter. You’re always in touch without even thinking about it.
Most likely, you speak every day through social media, on the phone or through email. You might not even say “Hi” anymore or ask how the other has been, because you just go straight into business and that business can be anything, truly anything.
9. There’s no jealousy
In a true friendship you know there is no need to be jealous or possessive. You’re 100% confident on your relationship. You understand each of you has his or her own life, you have other friends, maybe a partner, you do fun things with other people too. It doesn’t matter.
If anything, it’s even a positive thing that you have separate lives. There’s more room for gossip and new topics to talk about.
10. Forgiveness
A row between true friends is nothing short of drama. Shouts will be heard, tears might flow endlessly, you might swear to hate each other but, in the end, everything will be fine.
It’s normal for people to fight, especially when they are so close, but because you know each other so well and in your raw forms, you understand each other. Once you calm down, you are able to comprehend the other’s point of you and even if you believe to be in the right, you can forgive.
Did you recognize any of the signs of a true friendship?
While reading these 10 signs of a true friendship did you think of someone right away? Then give them a shout! Tell them you thought and care for them too. Cherish your true friends because they are really hard to come by.
And, most importantly, pay attention to toxic friends. The line that separates a real companion from a fake one is sometimes hard to tell because the latter also stick to your side, only that he or she has bad intentions when doing it.
