How does one go about being a good friend?  We all have friends, and we all are a friend to someone else. But how often do we stop and take note of whether we ourselves are being a good friend to those we love?  I would admit that I don’t do it often enough.  And so I decided to make a list of things we could do to be a better friend:

• Remember birthdays and anniversaries of important event in our friends lives.  We all use digital calendars today so all it takes is adding important dates as a recurring appointment in our calendars and then set it to remind us a day in advance.
• Be a good listener. When a friend is sharing a problem just listen intently.
• Take a get well card to friends when they are feeling down. Heck take a friendship card over for no reason at all, just to tell them you are glad they are your friend.
• If someone is talking ill of your friend come to your friends defense.
• Don’t try to compete or outdo your friends.  Be genuinely happy for their successes without feeling like you need to compare yourself.
• Give sincere compliments to your friends.  Build them up. Point out their strengths whenever you can.
• Respect your friend’s privacy and keep confidences they share with you.  Be someone they can trust and rely on.
• Set a good example for your friends.  Don’t ever be the person to drag them down. Always be the one to help them be better than they realized they realized they could be.
• Pay attention to the little things that are important to your friends.  Notice the things that matter to them and let them matter to you as well.
• Pray to be a better friend and pray to be made aware of when your friends need you.

I want to keep adding ideas to this list so I can keep it on my mirror or somewhere I will see it daily so it keeps these ideas front of mind for me.  It’s so easy to get caught up in worrying about ourselves and I think it helps to have daily reminders around us that we want to focus our attention on serving our friends instead of spending so much time worrying about ourselves.

Have a great day and remember to call a friend and tell them that you love and appreciate them!

~Amy