» Want to Make Friends and Keep Friends with Confidence?

It IS possible to survive without friendship: if you have food to eat, clothes to wear and a place to shelter, you have the basics for survival.

But for the overwhelming majority of people this isn’t enough. Survival isn’t what they’re looking for. They want to take it further, to the next level of need. They want acceptance by their fellow humans, and not just an acknowledgment of their existence, but the strongest form of acceptance: friendship.

Some people find it easier than others to make and keep friends

For some people making and keeping friends is as easy as falling off a log, but for others it’s a struggle, suggesting fear and disappointment.

My ex-boss is a friend of over 15 years’ standing. I don’t know why, but we just hit it off from Day 1 and the friendship has lasted through periods of very close working, more distant working, and now with the ocean and several countries between us. Even though we’ve not seen each other for a year, only communicating by occasional e-mail, I know that if we met up tomorrow we would still feel comfortable together and start up right where we left off.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve always found it easy to make friends. And since moving to a new country where I knew almost no-one I’ve had to start again, to build new friendships in my new life. This isn’t always easy to do when you’re older – it feels like being back on the dating circuit after many years in a steady relationship, with the same insecurities and nervousness. You need to be open to opportunities that might have the potential to generate acquaintances and friends, without seeming desperate.

This experience has led me to revisit my understanding of friendship. Learn what makes a real friend, and how to succeed in making real, lasting friendships here.