You can trust them
A close friend is honest and speaks from the heart with good intentions. They tell you what you need to hear in a way that you can hear rather than gossip behind your back. A quality friend is trustworthy, not only are your secrets safe with them, but so are your vulnerability, fear, and weirdness.
You give more than you take.
At times, one person may need more than the other. But if a friend is constantly a taker and rarely a giver, it's not a balanced friendship. If you're always there for them but they don't do the same for you, it may be a sign to move on.
Though every bond evolves in its own way, I have come to believe that there are six forces that help form friendships and maintain them through the years: accumulation, attention, intention, ritual, imagination, and grace.
This popular study says it all: If a friendship lasts longer than seven years, psychologists say it will last a lifetime.
Obviously, most people don't meet all of their friends during childhood and, unfortunately, not all friendships last forever. The poll found that the average friendship lasts for 17 years, however, 17 percent say they've had the same best friend for over 30 years!
The average lifespan of a friendship? 10 years. Here's why. This is the psychology of why friendships (and marriages) fail.
A different way of categorizing friendship is by applying “The Three C's”. There are three basic types of people with whom you interact: Constituents, Comrades, and Confidants.
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) advocates the same. It states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. So, 80% of your deep friendship relations will come from 20% of your friends. 80% of your productivity will come from 20% of your tasks.
Trust. Being able to have trust and confidence in your friend is one of the most important requirements of a strong relationship because true friendship means you are able to count on one another. Part of caring for a friend is honoring what they tell you, no matter the significance, with confidentiality and respect.
One of the biggest challenges when experiencing a friendship ending is not having that person to lean on. Focus on scheduling activities and reconnecting with loved ones (but avoid bad-mouthing your situation to mutual friends). It may also help to reach out to a therapist, who can help you sort through your emotions.
A high-quality friendship is characterized by high levels of prosocial behavior, intimacy, and other positive features, and low levels of conflicts, rivalry, and other negative features.
Recent research has revealed why people may end friendships. The reasons can be categorized into four categories, including selfishness, infrequent interaction, romantic involvement, and perceptions.
“I think consistent effort is the number one thing that makes a friendship last a lifetime,” Nicole Zangara, LCSW, author of Surviving Female Friendships: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, told HelloGiggles. “When both of you are putting in the effort, and it's on a consistent basis, that friendship will last.”
In fact, recent research from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships revealed that it takes approximately 200 hours for a 'best friendship' to develop! 200 hours!!!
There's no “right” number of friends you should have, but research says most people have between 3 and 5 close friends. Friendship is necessary, but it can feel challenging to find people who really “get” you. What's more, what you need from your friends might change as your life circumstances change.
Rule #5: Always do the Thanksgiving wishbone with your bestie. Rule #6: If you can't tell your best friend about something you're doing, you probably shouldn't be doing it. Rule #7: No matter how mad you are at your best friend, you have to forgive them if they give you ice cream.
Dunbar says it takes so long to create a true friendship because you're looking for seven pillars of friendship—similarities in the following dimensions: the way you speak (dialect), hobbies and interests, religious views, moral views, sense of humor, musical taste and career trajectory.
Abstract. The friendship triangle is conceptually defined as the interrelationship among friendship expectations, experiences and satisfaction.
Lifelong friendships are rare — and that's part of what makes them so special. Cherish your opportunities if you are so very lucky to have such a gift, and don't take for granted the relationships you have. Are we really meant to have the same set of friends throughout our entire lives?
Researchers found that people who had satisfying relationships with others were happier, better adjusted, had fewer health problems and indeed lived longer.
It's fine to have fleeting friendships, courtesy friendship, simply frivolous fun friends or even to engage in friendships that are based on mutual or one way neediness. But you can't expect them to be the same way forever, or for them to stay forever. Lifelong friendships are the independent ones.