“Friendship is about finding people who are your kind of crazy.”
After family, friends are the only human beings who can bear our level of craziness. Friendship bonds are the ones that last a long lifetime. Being in friendship is like one scrapbook with multiple colors; every page you turn, you find a whole new side of them, and that’s the beauty of friendship.
But, as easy as it is to say, equally challenging to maintain that precious friendship bond. You have to make lots of effort to keep the friendship alive and make a strong friendship bond.
Five factors in maintaining a strong, long-lasting friendship:
1. Trust
“Friendship is built on two things: Respect and Trust.”
Trust is the core factor of every relationship, whether friendship, love, or family. To build a strong friendship, you must learn to trust and have confidence, which is counted from both sides.
And to build that trust, you need to spend time with your friend, know their habits, how they treat you and what your value is in their life. Then, only you can start the base of your friendship. In simple words, if you want to build a long-lasting friendship, learn to trust them and earn their trust.
2. Honesty
“Being honest may not get you a lot of friendship, but it’ll always get you the right one.”
Honesty is the key to a successful, long term and strong friendship. A friendship without honesty is like a plane field with a deep pit. A small lie or excuse could lead to immense destruction; thus, if you want a happy and healthy relationship, you need to learn to be honest.
3. Independence
Being close to someone is understandable, but giving them their space is also vital in a relationship. If you don’t know when and where to give them personal space, you will never know when the friendship will become toxic.
Everyone has their hobbies, likes, dislikes, and personal space, and who does not want to spend some time alone? So, be by your friend’s side, but also know when they need personal space and offer them that.
4. Compassion
Compassion works as fuel in making any relationship or friendship work. You will be empathic and genuinely help your friend in need if you have compassion for them. And for a healthy friendship, it is a must to be there. Being there in need works as a glue in your friendship.
In moments of grief, sadness, and happiness, we all need that one friend who is supportive and compassionate, listening and helping you out to solve your problems.
5. Equality
Equality is the last but equally important ingredient that works as tempering in making a strong friendship. Do you both treat each other equally? Do you hear your friends and your friends hear your advice?
Equality is when both the people in friendship are heard and respected equally.
None of you can be controlling, dominating, or manipulative because even if any one of you is the given one, the friendship will not last long.
Conclusion
Friendship cannot be something that can be bought. It is built and gets stronger with time when the two peoples are ready to give it all.
If you and your friend have trust, honesty, independence, compassion, and equality, then you have already set the foundation stone for a healthy, happy, strong, and long-lasting friendship. And above all is the willingness to make a friendship work and how much effort both of you put in to do so.
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