Without us realizing it at times, we find ourselves in unhealthy toxic friendships. Sometimes, these unhealthy friendships take us by surprise, or catch us off guard, and they often leave us feeling disappointed and hurt. Sometimes, we stay friends with toxic people because we fear their response or rejection, or we think it’s normal to have unhealthy people in our lives.

Or sometimes we expect everyone to be a perfect friend, and dismiss them if they make the slightest mistake without trying to put in a bit of work into the friendship. Healthy friendships are a constant give and take relationship, which means we need to put in a bit of work from time to time in order to see it grow from strength to strength.

A GOOD FRIEND

  • A good friend will love you at all times.
  • A good friend will encourage you from season to season.
  • A good friend will be open and honest with you.
  • A good friend will challenge you in love.
  • A good friend will respect you and your feelings.
  • A good friend will listen and have those hard conversations with you and learn to move past offense.
  • A good friend will remain loyal to you.
  • A good friend will always speak highly of you, and not gossip about you.
  • A good friend will remind and encourage you to pursue your dreams.
  • A good friend looks past insecurities, and does not compete or compare themselves with you.

AUTHENTIC FLOURISHING FRIENDSHIPS

I think it’s also very important to note that friends are people with flaws. There is no such thing as a perfect friend, but there is such a thing as an authentic friend. If friendships are constantly stealing from you, and doing more harm than good then maybe slowly transition out of those unhealthy relationships. If however you have certain friendships that are awesome, but need work from time to time then hold onto those and invest in them.

Friends are meant to grow together, that means putting in the work together. That will mean laughing together, crying together, having those tough honest conversations, then go about being intentional about working on weak areas in order to grow a solid healthy friendship.

If you had to pause and think about your current friendships, ask yourself if they are healthy and if they are growing and adding to both your lives, or are they unhealthy and do they constantly steal from you? Then thirdly, ask yourself if you are a being a good friend to others, if not then maybe it’s time to revamp that section of your life. Here’s to more happy, healthy, flourishing friendships.