{"id":90737,"date":"2024-08-02T14:18:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T12:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=90737"},"modified":"2025-05-05T09:55:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:55:15","slug":"how-to-make-friends-and-be-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/how-to-make-friends-and-be-one\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make friends and be one?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We tend to make friends with people we cross paths with regularly: people we go to school with, work with, or live close to. The more we see someone, the more likely a friendship is to develop. So, look at the places you frequent as you start your search for potential friends.<\/p>\n<p>If you are introverted or shy, it can feel uncomfortable to put yourself out there socially. But you don\u2019t have to be naturally outgoing to make new friends.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some tips that can help you get started:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Focus on others, not yourself.<\/strong> The key to connecting to other people is by showing interest in them. When you\u2019re truly interested in someone else\u2019s thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions, it shows\u2014and they\u2019ll like you for it. You\u2019ll make far more friends by showing your interest rather than trying to get people interested in you. If you\u2019re not genuinely curious about the other person, then stop trying to connect.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pay attention.<\/strong> Switch off your smartphone, avoid other distractions, and make an effort to truly listen to the other person. By paying close attention to what they say, do, and how they interact, you\u2019ll quickly get to know them. Small efforts go a long way, such as remembering someone\u2019s preferences, the stories they\u2019ve told you, and what\u2019s going on in their life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Evaluating interest<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Friendship takes two, so it\u2019s important to evaluate whether the other person is looking for new friends.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do they ask you questions about you, as if they\u2019d like to get to know you better?<\/li>\n<li>Do they tell you things about themselves beyond surface small talk?<\/li>\n<li>Do they give you their full attention when you see them?<\/li>\n<li>Does the other person seem interested in exchanging contact information or making specific plans to get together?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you can\u2019t answer \u201cyes\u201d to these questions, the person may not be the best candidate for friendship now, even if they genuinely like you. There are many possible reasons why not, so don\u2019t take it personally!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overcoming obstacles to making friends<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Is something stopping you from building the friendships you\u2019d like to have? Here are some common obstacles\u2014and how you can overcome them.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you\u2019re too busy\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Developing and maintaining friendships takes time and effort, but even with a packed schedule, you can find ways to make the time for friends.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you\u2019re afraid of rejection\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Making new friends means putting yourself out there, and that can be scary. It\u2019s especially intimidating if you\u2019re someone who\u2019s been betrayed, traumatized, or abused in the past, or someone with an insecure attachment bond. But by working with the right therapist, you can explore ways to build trust in existing and future friendships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For better friendships, be a better friend yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Making a new friend is just the beginning of the journey. Friendships take time to form and even more time to deepen, so you need to nurture that new connection.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Be the friend that you would like to have.<\/em> Treat your friend just as you want them to treat you. Be reliable, thoughtful, trustworthy, and willing to share yourself and your time.<\/li>\n<li><em>Be a good listener.<\/em> Be prepared to listen to and support friends just as you want them to listen to and support you.<\/li>\n<li><em>Give your friend space. <\/em>Don\u2019t be too clingy or needy. Everyone needs space to be alone or spend time with other people as well.<\/li>\n<li><em>Don\u2019t set too many rules and expectations.<\/em> Instead, allow your friendship to evolve naturally. You\u2019re both unique individuals so your friendship probably won\u2019t develop exactly as you expect.<\/li>\n<li><em>Be forgiving.<\/em> No one is perfect and every friend will make mistakes. No friendship develops smoothly so when there\u2019s a bump in the road, try to find a way to overcome the problem and move on. It will often deepen the bond between you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We tend to make friends with people we cross paths with regularly: people we go to school with, work with, or live close to. The more we see someone, the more likely a friendship is to develop. So, look at the places you frequent as you start your search for potential friends. If you are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[5476],"class_list":["post-90737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature","tag-special-feature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/360_F_273977821_TRASlCZK0ksIYgfozKcW2ETZAShwa9St.jpg?fit=516%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-nBv","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 04:34:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}