FIND THREE GREAT FRIENDS
Cultivating great friendships is one of the surest ways to find more happiness and joy in your life. Recent studies show that those with a wide circle of friends and family live longer, laugh more, and worry less. But friendships, like all other good things in life, take time, energy, and commitment. Having said this, few things will offer greater rewards. As one philosopher wrote many centuries ago, there is nothing in the world more valuable than friendship. Thos who banish it from their lives remove as it were the sun from the earth, because of all of nature’s gifts it is the most beautiful and the most pleasing”.
As I grew up, my father often said that the person with three great friends is a rich person indeed. I have never forgotten this advice and encourage you to take it to heart as well. To build deeper friendships, you must be willing to move out of your comfort zone, break the ice with people you might not know very well, and show sincere warmth. You plant the seeds of friendship; you are bound to receive a rich harvest of great friends. At a party or a gathering have the courage to walk over to someone you would like to get to know better an introduce yourself. Every human being has a deep need for affection, and most people will be delighted you took the initiative. And if they do not respond to you, so what? Rather than viewing it as rejection, see it as their loss and politely move on to the next person who can benefit from all you have to offer.
