maintaining friendships as an adult can be tricky, especially if you're juggling work, family, and kids. However, if you keep these tips in mind and make time for your friends, it will be much easier to stay close to them:
make time for your friends.
you can't maintain a friendship if you don't make time for it. you need to be willing to put in the effort, even if your friends aren't always as responsive.
if you want friends in your life, then find ways that work for you and make sure they get done:
- ask them out on dates at least once every few months; don't just wait around hoping they'll call or text first! if they say no, accept that gracefully and try again later when things are less busy at work/home/school (or whatever). if they say yes...well...you got yourself a date!
- don't be afraid of saying no sometimes--it's okay if one friend asks another friend out on their terms rather than yours (or vice versa). but also don't feel like every time someone asks about hanging out means that everything else has fallen through the cracks between now and then; friendships take time and effort from both sides so don't worry too much about what hasn't happened yet while focusing instead on making sure whatever does happen is enjoyable enough that both parties would want another chance at something similar down the road."
get to know your friend's family.
you'll get to know your friend better by getting to know their family. ask about them and the kids, parents, and siblings too! if you're feeling brave enough for a real challenge, try asking about extended family members or pets too.
disclose and listen.
when it comes to maintaining relationships, disclosure and listening are key. disclosing your feelings and listening to the other person's response shows that you trust them enough to share with them. this will allow each of you to feel heard, which is one of the most important elements in a friendship: being able to express yourself without fear of judgment or criticism from your friend. Additionally, disclosing something personal about yourself (e.g., insecurity), will help build trust between both parties because they know they can be open with each other as well.
communicate with honesty and respect.
- respect the other person's feelings.
- respect the other person's time.
- respect their opinions, even if you disagree with them! if a friend says something that rubs you the wrong way, try not to take it personally--it could be that they don't realize how their words might sound or feel to someone else (and if so, then this is an excellent opportunity for growth). however, if someone is intentionally being hurtful or mean-spirited towards you in any way whatsoever... well then i think it's safe to say that this friendship has run its course!
set healthy boundaries if needed.
when you're a parent, it's easy to let others take advantage of your kindness and generosity. you might find that people expect more from you than they would from other adults. you may even feel like they walk all over you or abuse your good nature by asking for favors without giving anything in return.
if this is happening in any of your relationships (with friends or family), set clear boundaries with them so that everyone is on equal footing again.
you can maintain your relationships with your friends as an adult by being upfront and honest, setting healthy boundaries, and making time for them
being upfront and honest is important because it allows everyone involved to be informed about what's happening in the relationship. if you don't tell your friend that you're moving away for a year or that you've been seeing someone else on the side, then they may feel blindsided when they find out later on.
setting healthy boundaries is also essential to maintaining friendships in adulthood because it allows each person involved to feel safe enough in their friendship that they won't feel pressured into doing anything uncomfortable or unwanted by either party (or both). for example: if one friend starts dating someone who makes another friend uncomfortable--but isn't abusive--the first friend should still respect his/her second friend's wishes not to hang out with this third party anymore so as not to make things awkward between them all over again down the road when things inevitably come up again later down life's road."
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i hope that this article has helped you to understand how to maintain adult friendships. as with anything in life, it's important to remember that not every friendship will last forever and that's okay! you can still have a good time with someone even if it doesn't turn into something more serious.
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