How to Make New Friends & Connect with Others More

One of the best parts about life is being surrounded by people that you can turn towards in times of need, make you smile when you are down, create memories that will last a lifetime, and just someone who you enjoy spending time with. These types of people in life are called friends. Yet, making these lifelong friends is not the easiest thing to do. In order to take one step closer into finding these significant people is making the move to initiate the friendship. Although this initial step is the most intimidating, it can open you up to new people that you never expected to meet in life.

The first step to make new friends is to step outside of your comfort zone. When meeting any person, it is awkward and rocky at first. However, taking it upon yourself to be the first to say something is a step in the right direction. To avoid this uneasiness at first, start by introducing yourself and asking them questions about themselves, and make easy conversation about the place you are in. Finding common ground is the best place to start when talking to someone new because then you both can have an interest or experience of the topic. Even though this initial conversation can be scary, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone will guide you to make a better connection to the person.
In most cases, after the initial conversation there will be assumptions made about one another. We tend to pre-judge people before we have fully understood them based on prior life experiences. We either do not know them at all and tend to think the worst, have heard rumors about them through others, and have seen them on prior occasions but have not said anything. In any scenario, humans tend to make their own interpretations before or after the first introduction. To avoid doing that, allow yourself to take the time to fully understand the person before making any final verdicts. Making any new friend is going to take time and to help that, you have to allow yourself to get to know the other person. Friendship is built on trust, patience, and honesty. These key factors can allow you to truly get to know someone and lead you to making a new friend.

In addition to the assumptions made about others, do not try to be someone you are not. A strong friendship between two people is based on them fully understanding and knowing who each other are. Acting as someone else or presenting yourself in a different light can create various consequences. It can lead to you creating a friendship based on a lie and possibly losing your true self in the process. You also shouldn’t feel the need to go out of your way to change who you are in order to impress someone else. You have to know your own self worth. If you have to be someone else around certain people, then the friendship isn’t worth it. Your life long friend will like you for you. An individual should not feel the need to change who they are in order to make friends or impress others. Stay true to who you are, and you will find the friends that are right for you.

A final concept to building stronger friendships is being persistent. A friendship can only go so far if you only see the person once in a blue moon. Take it upon yourself to check in on the person, ask them to hangout, and talk to them more often in order to build the relationship. Many lost friendships are due to the fact that no one reaches out to one another and makes plans to spend time together. By making the extra effort toward someone else, it will begin to grow into a long lasting friendship.

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