This improves all other relationships in your life too, making you happier and more gratified - all a recipe for longevity. Friends are not always easy people, mind you, but if you build on your social intelligence, you will be able to navigate your friendships to smoother waters and sense greater joy and satisfaction. Here are 5 hacks to better your friendships.
1 ENGAGE
Friendships do not thrive passively. You shouldn't just assume that once a friend, always a bestie. You cannot sit passively on the side of a road and expect that every passerby will become your buddy without you even starting a conversation. Like all relationships, friendships need participative engagement. You need to "see" your friends; they're not invisible entities who simply exist. Many a time we think, "She's my friend, she will understand that I am busy" or that "He's a good friend, he will know that I don't like talking too much." What does your friendship mean to you? In what way do you engage with your friends and "connect" with them?
Some friends meet at the local animal volunteering agency, others connect over dance, while several like meetups to try out new restaurants or art galleries. Or maybe just have a sleepover where you chat up and catch up. Figure their penchants and whether they match yours and try to build an overlap. The connectivity hormone oxytocin is released when you spend good time with someone you care for and it arouses feelings of closeness in living beings. For that, friends need to be physically as well as emotionally present with each other. Friendship isn't about non-stop chatter and gossip, but when you become disengaged, the oxytocin connect gets completely lost. And so does the friendship eventually.
2 EMPATHIZE
This story is from the August 2023 edition of The Teenager Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 edition of The Teenager Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
STICKING OUT YOUR NECK!
Maybe it's having the twins, my grandsons from New York, back home again, that reminded me of a conversation I had with them a couple of monsoons ago: \"What's that?\" asked one of them pointing to a huge shell on the ground.
Hippos can get airborne while running fast
Hippos weigh up to two tonnes, but these bulky creatures can go airborne for a period of time.
Tree bark plays a vital role in removing methane from the atmosphere
Trees are known for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus benefiting the climate. New research shows that they offer one more benefit.
Lunar caves could shelter astronauts on the moon
Scientists have found an underground cave on the moon not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago.
Manasi Joshi
The Para-Badminton World Champion
International Day of Peace
In Search of Non-violence and Cease-fire
Non-Violent Communication
How to cope with conflict situations
FR ALOYSIUS G. REGO
A short-statured bearded figure glancing through a pair of spectacles, cane in hand, and head swinging with every step, was the most feared figure in the galleries of our school, St. Joseph's Collegiate, Allahabad.
The Architects of the Future
As we celebrate Teachers' Day on 5 September, students from St Charles School, Santacruz East, Mumbai, have come together to share their thoughts and perspectives on the challenges that teachers face in today's rapidly-changing educational landscape.
JUNG & KOOK
With music, stories and news of K-pop all over the place, on Instagram, Twitter, Thread and other social media platforms, and dozens of boy and girl bands emerging from South Korea, believe me when I say that K-pop is irresistible.
