Friends are wonderful. I dare say that good friends are a blessing. Even the Bible tells us that "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
To have a good friend is a blessing to be a good friend is even better.
These are eight ways you can be a better friend in 2016.
1. Listen- Don't talk. Every time is not chipping in time. There are times all your friend wants is someone to feel what they are going through and not for you to blabber back hitting with advice. You need to differentiate between the times.
2. Be approachable- Help your friend be at ease to talk to you about whatever. Ensure they feel free around you, in your house and your environment whether you are there or not.
3. Give your attention- if you're phone or tablet is more entertaining, then make it your friend. If you, however, care about your friendships, put away anything that's of distraction be attentive to your friend.
4. Show interest- ask how that new job is taking them or how that new dress you helped pick turned out. It's just that simple.
5. Be respectful- if your friend doesn't like shoes in her house even if clean, leave them out. And please don't badmouth your friend or their families. Not only is it disrespectful, wrong but utterly immature.
6. Communicate properly- you are bound to have a difference in opinion on different issues. However, it is upon you to determine if this will end your friendship or strengthen it. If there is something they did that didn't please you, talk to them and point it out instead of venting in confusing signals to them.
7. Be easy in criticism- it's clear a certain colour doesn't suit them, don't make them feel bad about themselves about it. Sometimes it's not about what we say, but the way we say it. Tell them a darker tone of the colour would suit them better rather than "Stop kidding yourself. You are too light (or dark skinned) to rock that outfit. You look like... Really?..."
8. Give them a chance- you may come from a family where you are an only child or are used to having things your way. It's time to allow your friends into your circle and be easy. They way you do things may not be the way the do things but that doesn't make their way of doing things wrong.