10 signs of a real & genuine friendship
We’ve talked a lot about how important friendship is, especially as an adult, and ways to find new friends but when looking for new connections it is helpful to look for traits of true, genuine friends. Some friends are for a reason, some friends are for a season and some friends are for a lifetime. There are a couple of common traits that real friends often possess.
They accept you for who you are.
The good, the bad and the ugly, a true friend accepts you in your entirety without judgement. This doesn’t mean that they agree with you all the time and may have different perspectives but they respect you and love you for who you are.
2. They stick around during good and bad times.
A genuine friend is with you through the highest highs and the lowest lows. They provide constant support and encouragement no matter what the situation might be - the break ups, the promotions, the new pets, the losses and everything in between.
3. You have a genuinely great time when you are together.
You really enjoy spending time together, whether you are watching a movie in silence or mountain biking in the snow, the energy is light and fun. You have a real connection and enjoy each other's company. One of the best and easiest way to confirm a genuine friendship is if you genuinely like spending quality time together.
4. They make time to see you and do activities together
Life gets hectic and we are all on our own busy schedules but true friends will still make time to see each other. It may not be as often as you would like but you feel like the friendship is still a priority. A true friend will set aside quality time to do something together you both enjoy, like a shared hobby.
5. You have some shared passions and interests to bond over.
You don’t have to be identical to someone in order for the friendship to be genuine (you could even be very different) but you probably have one or two (or more!) shared passions. A sports, a craft, an art, an outdoor hobby, whatever it may be, is probably what you initially bonded over. You have a common ground and passions to talk about, do together and connect over. A shared hobby is one of the easiest ways to form a genuine connection with someone, it gives you something to initially talk about and do together and is a great basis of expanding into a real friendship.
6. They listen.
Like really listen. Conversations with real friends are not one sided (we’ve all been talked about for an hour and it is really not fun). You can have open two way conversations and open up, get advice or just chat without judgement, interruptions or just not being heard. Real friends are genuinely interested in what you have to say.
7. Your differences don't matter.
A real friend doesn’t care about the ways you are different to them, it is probably one of the things they like about you. There is a mutual respect and acceptance between you and they celebrate your differences.
8. They encourage you to reach your goals.
A real friend will celebrate every success with you and cheer you on to achieve all your goals. They will give you support and motivation to achieve success.
9. They help with de-stressing.
Having someone to vent to, relax with and sometimes give you a reality check on what you’re stressing about shows genuine friendship. Real friends can sense our stress and generally have a pretty good way of dealing with it.
10. You like who you are around them.
True friends will bring out the best in each other and you like the person you become around them. They encourage you to pursue your hobbies and passions (probably together!) and push you to achieve success.
