Chapter Thirteen

Make Friends

Presently, the youth find it tough to choose good friends. Sometimes they find it tough to understand who their good friends are! Life without friendship has no meaning. Friendship is about sharing both happiness and sorrow. It is not just about hanging out with others, but also about helping others and spending precious time sharing our emotions, feelings, ideas and other things that make our life more meaningful.

True Friendship Never Dies

Man is a social animal; he can’t live alone. He needs people to share his thoughts, ideas, emotions and feelings. The value of friendship is priceless. We can make friends everywhere such as the workplace, classroom and social gatherings. Having friends helps us make more friends. If we have true friends, they can understand our feelings. With true, intelligent, amicable and understanding friends, we can share everything.

Avoid Negative Friends

Students have a lot of friends around them. We will find good and bad friends. We have to choose good friends, in order to lead our lives peacefully and successfully. If we are surrounded by negative friends they will pass negative vibes, and over a period of time we will develop negative thoughts. If you are intelligent, you can acquire some good qualities even from negative people as no man is entirely good and no man is entirely bad. However, the problem with negative friends is that they will often complain, criticize and condemn others and prefer to bunk classes. In addition, negative friends may lead you to some unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking and addiction to drugs. Hence, it is vital to stay away from negative people to keep ourselves healthy. We must have friends, but a few good and healthy friends to lead our lives pleasantly.

A Tale on Friendship

Jack joined an educational institution. He wanted to make friends but couldn’t find a friend of his taste. He wanted a friend who had a positive attitude, good manners and an understanding nature. In the class in which he was studying, he could not find friends with the desired qualities. One day, a faculty member asked each student, ‘Who is your friend and what kind of friends would you like to choose?’ Everyone replied promptly to the faculty. Now it was Jack’s turn. He told the faculty member, ‘I’m not interested in friends’. After completion of the class, the faculty member called Jack to her cabin. When Jack met her, the faculty member asked, ‘Jack! Why don’t you have friends? Do you have any problem?’. Jack replied, ‘I want my friend to have a positive attitude, good manners and an understanding nature. But I can’t find all these qualities in one person here’. The faculty member laughed and said, ‘You cannot live without friends and you may not get all the qualities you want in your friends. Therefore, learn to spot the people whose tastes match with yours closely and be friends with them’. Jack realized what this faculty member was saying, and he began making friends who were close to his expectations. He started enjoying his life at the institution. The story conveys the message that we should all have friends. We must choose those who are very close to our attitudes, aptitudes, tastes and temperaments.

Tips to Make Friends

Here are some tips that will help you make friends:

• Build relations with your friends by spending some time with them.
• When you go for meetings and functions, if you find good people then build relations with them.
• Look at similarities, not differences. Create a common ground that connects with others.
• Remember the names of people and call them by their names, so that they feel happy. Also, remember important events and dates, and greet them on important occasions.

Thoughts from Dale Carnegie’s Book

Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the bestselling self-improvement books in the world. The book helps you win others and enhance your visibility. It emphasizes the importance of soft skills. It provides tools and techniques to praise others sincerely and connect with others quickly. It reminds the reader that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language. It enhances the reader’s image and popularity within their circle. This book adds energy and enthusiasm and develops people as good speakers. Above all, it makes others feel

Albert Camus said, ‘Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend’. A good friend is a gift from God. Learn to spot good friends and promote your relations. In fact, friendship is thicker than blood. There are people who care for and treat their friends better than their own blood relations. Friendship is sacred. Learn to respect and promote friendship, thus providing meaning to your life.