How to Make a New Best Friend
- Be yourself completely
- Join them in their world
- Open your world to them
I’m all alone now in a town where I know no one.
It’s 100 degrees out and there’s no way to escape it, so I decide to drive up the town’s tallest mountain to see the highest view.
Driving up the mountain road, I see ahead in the distance…a strange green streak carving fast down the mountain.
Closer comes the streak and I see it’s a young guy crouched low on a longboard, swerving with arms out for balance, green shirt fluttering, leaned into the wind…and this is how I met my new good buddy
Jake.
He whizzes by and our eyes meet for a moment. I u-turn and roll along offset beside him…windows down, music up, both of us grooving in the moving sonic bubble.
We flash a smile in the language beyond words and carve the hill in the vitamin sun. At the bottom we laugh elated and high five.
I ask how he planned to get back to the top. He smiles and says he had no idea. And I knew right then we’d be great friends.
Suddenly the 100 degree heat doesn’t seem so bad. New friends really do help life feel bright.
Stories swirl…he’s Jake, the smooth-operator, adrenaline-chaser, train-conductor.
We meet up that night and go wandering through town…joking with strangers, talking about life.
Toward the end of the night, he invites me on a sunrise road trip across the painted desert to go watch the Albuquerque Isotopes play baseball.
My answer is 100% Yes, 0% No.
We meet in the tangerine dawn at a diner for coffee. I sling my pack in the truckbed and hop the tailgate to ride most of the way across the red sand flats laying like a snow angel under deep blue sky forever with his dog Karma curled up by my side.
It is absolutely amazing how quickly you can make a new good friend.
How to make a new good friend
__1. Be yourself completely. __
Best friends are naturally drawn to each other, right?
You don’t just want an acquaintance, you want a FRIEND!
That means you have to be your real genuine, weirdo self. You have to let them see you!
If you’re wearing your favorite shirt, playing your favorite sport, out on an adventure, it will give them a chance to be interested in you!
So step one is easy… Go out in the world and have fun being your real authentic self.
Just do exactly what sounds good to you. Live exactly the way you envision a life should be lived.
Humans are drawn to each other by some mysterious magnetism…a curiosity about one another…both in similarity and in difference.
It is the same pull that’s been happening since the beginning of the universe…particles draw themselves together into dust and into rocks, into planets and solar systems and galaxies and superclusters and US.
Life is drawn to other life. The universe is self organizing on its own intelligence.
You will bring your heart-felt love to the world, and that is valuable. People want to be around authentic passion!
When you are your realest self, new potential friends will appear.
2. Join them in their world.
When you’re out in the world doing what you love and you see someone interesting, all you have to do is walk over and say hi.
One of two things will happen…they will either:
- look at you weird like “what do you want?” To which you say “have a nice day” and keep on keepin’ on.
- smile and say hi back. To which you say “I like your shirt” or “What are you reading?”
Now when you find a smiler…someone you connect with…all you have to do is find out how their live is.
-What is life like from their perspective? -What do they want to do next? -What is a movie or book they love?
You may feel odd chatting to strangers…but if you say hi to 10 people and 1 of them ends up being your new best friend, isn’t it worth it?
Be brave, take the initiative. You will enjoy the benefits.
3. Open your world to them
Your curiosity about them may inspire a curiosity about you, so usually they’ll ask you the same question back.
Answer honestly. Remember, you are looking for a FRIEND not an acquaintance. Your openness and honesty will be rewarded with genuine friendship…other people want friends too!
There are billions of people wandering around out there. There are thousands who would click with you.
What are some great things you’d bring to a friendship?
Maybe you’re a good listener or an adventurous spirit, or quick with the jokes, or thoughtful , or well-spoken, or non-judgemental, or inquisitive.
It’s okay if you’ve been feeling lonely. You can make new friends today. -go to the park and talk to someone who looks interesting. -go to a meetup that sounds cool. -go anywhere that seems fascinating and fun.
Everyone there will agree :)
If you go out and do what you love completely, you can make a new best friend.
Believe it.
Here’s a great video about friendship:
I wish you new friendship and deep connection.