Perfect Timing

Yesterday, I put up a blog post about my challenges with finding close friends as an adult.  Today as I was listening to the Party in My Plants Podcast (great name, huh?), I got sucked into a great episode about the exact same topic.  Turns out, I’m not the only one who feels that finding friends is hard.  I felt like I just had to share some of the down-to-earth tips they shared for those of us who want to expand our social network and develop new friendships.

• Assume that the people you meet want to find new friends, just like you do.  I know that I often assume that other cool-seeming girls already have more friends than they can handle.  But really, have you even met anyone who actually didn’t want to make new friends?
• Meetup.com is a great place to find others with similar interests.  Ok, maybe a little dorky but it’s good to be dorky with friends.
• Follow people online with similar interests.  And then message them!  (This takes courage.)
• Go out into the world, especially to places where you think you’ll find likeminded people.  How about a yoga camp?  Or a fun concert?  Maybe a flower-arranging workshop or the rock-climbing gym?
• Get curious about others.  You are much more likely to connect if you are willing to listen.
• Don’t be too judgmental.  It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that someone is “not my kind of person” but you won’t really know unless you actually talk to them.

I just really like these ideas and felt I needed to share a quick follow-up post today.  This isn’t to minimize the real challenges that many of us face with loneliness or shyness, it’s just to offer some encouragement and empowerment.

Good luck out there!

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