Gone are the days when friends are easy to come by. They just come naturally like meeting them in the neighborhood when you are passing along their homes; talking with them about their favorite pets, things, TV shows and food in school while waiting for the teacher; sharing stories with them while playing your well-liked sports in the community gym; and watching movies together downtown on a weekend and shopping with them afterwards. These are exciting times when friends are always there at your beck and call and sharing precious times together.
However, as we grow older, making friends is not anymore as easy as it could be. It becomes harder to make lasting relationships and making connections with other people, even the neighbors close to your home.
There just seem to be many acquaintances but no deeper relationships and close companionship like the one that you desire the most. But do not despair because adults can make lasting friendships like the younger ones by following these steps and keeping a positive outlook in life concerning this matter.
1. Making the first contact is difficult but if you explain to them that you are new in the neighborhood, and you do not know anyone around the area, or your best friend moved away, or you are looking for someone to discuss about a new movie, then maybe the move will open doors to friends that you would like to meet and will ease up the situation.
2. Smile can often work wonders even to the most difficult person in the whole world. We often forget to smile but when we do; it is the best way to get the confidence of another person as you will appear to be friendly, safe and approachable.
3. If you are desperate to find friends, there are a lot of websites that will allow you to find friends and connect with others. Try to join an online forum where discussion is focused on friendships or relationships, or any topic along your line of interest.
4. Learn to say yes when you start getting invitations no matter where the invitation may lead you, be it in adult classes you are interested in or get together with workmates after office work. This is the best way to meet new people even if you do not feel at ease going out of your comfort zone. Always make it a point to say the affirmative when it comes to social invites to enable you to meet people you would not normally meet.
5. Once you have established contact with someone interesting, becoming a friend to the person takes time and patience therefore take time to listen and asks questions. Focus the questions on themselves since they find it engaging and taking genuine interest on the other person will never allow you to run out of subjects to talk about.
6. Always be patient with your dealings with each other because you cannot expect the friendship to bloom overnight. In time, you will learn to develop friendly feelings with them and you can surely make new friends in your life soon.
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I’ve found the gym not a bad place to meet people, especially the classes and the socials. I live in London and have used certain online sites such as http://www.drinkingpartners.com/meet_people/london.html and also some of the classified sites like gumtree. Also organising and attending socials at work has also been good.