4 Signs Someone is Best Friends for Life

Does watching Friends make you wonder whether your current friendships will last forever? Well, the taglines like “Friendship lasts forever” and “A friend in need is a friend indeed” prove to be trivial in this fast-paced world. In this article, we will be describing four signs that imply you and your best friend are meant for life.

We meet friends online, on Instagram, Facebook, and even Tinder. We chat, talk, share, argue, and gradually the friendship even disintegrates.

All of us meet friends for a reason, season and a lifetime (That’s what Jay Shetty quotes). We have school friends, college friends, friends who refer us for a job, or friends who call us for a valid reason. And what about friends for life? BFFs, yeah!

1. You keep in touch no matter where you are located

The distance can hold two persons apart, but friendship is an exception. If you are far from your best friend, but still are in touch, then you both are meant forever. Keeping in touch is not limited to a FB message, a WhatsApp ping or a Snap Chat sticker. It means you both know what’s happening in each other’s life. You look forward to sharing your experiences with your buddy every day. Yeah. Every. Single. Day.

It is often observed that friends drift apart due to distances. It is not about moving to different cities, a rift takes place even after moving to a new college, or a new home. Surroundings change, routines change, interests change, and so do friends. Sending an occasional ‘Hi’ on Instagram or trying to connect to a video call for weeks – if this happens in your current friendship, then you are surely friends for a season.

2. Your friendship has both the sides active

Friendship is not similar to a coin having two sides but resembles like a straight line. Even if you are two poles apart, you are joined by on a straight plane. Its never ‘you lose’ or ‘I win’ attitude. It is respecting other’s likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests, preferences, cultural differences, opinions and beliefs. Moreover, you both respect other’s boundaries and do not act as a nosy neighbour in your friend’s life.

Most of the friendships which do not last are because of differences in likes and opinions. It is either one of the friends bragging, trying to win the situation or ever manipulating the other. Have you ever wondered why do such friendships even happen in life? It is because you are either submissive to the other person’s interests, or are passive-aggressive. Analyse your behaviour, do you really wish to play the new video game with your friend or you just agree because your friend wants. Or you might be being passively aggressive over the game for the next day.

3. You accept your friend no matter how situations change

You both want to be pilots; you both wanted to get married at the age of 25 to respective loving partners; you both wanted kids. But somewhere in the middle of life, things changed and so, did both of your dreams and passions. You do not want kids in the future, and your best friend is already married. Your friendship will thrive if you respect and accept each other’s decisions and adopt a growth mindset.

But if you are constantly convincing your friend not to have kids (and he/she wants to have), and your friend has been suggesting marriage proposals to you, then you conflict.

This happens in many of the cases when people go through whirling situations in life. Even if you are best friends, it does not mean that you are from the same family background, financial standing and a fixed mindset. Accepting each other’s decisions, respecting it, and not convincing them to do what you feel right – these are some golden rules in the new era of friendship.

4. You don’t think that your best friend is not co-dependent on you

In many friendships, there is a friend who continually asks for advice, suggestions, and calls for emotional support. Maybe, that friend is from a dysfunctional family, and badly needs at least one healthy relationship in life. But you are not at all and are always there for your friend. If you think that your friend is emotionally dependent on you, and you are like a guru or life coach for him/her, then you have to check the facts. You are a friend, a true friend, and not a helpline in their life.

Your friend could be trying to open his heart to you and not being dependent on you. Well, this sounds like more of a chaotic situation, and you before you jump on to a conclusion, ensure you have an open conversation with your friend. Your sudden non-availability could be a reason for a friendship outage, so be clear about your boundaries.

Best friends remain forever together not because of a celebration on a particular reason, or by connecting through social media channels. It requires a lot of understanding, deep conversations, and respecting each other’s life.

References:

Blanchot, M., & Rottenberg, E. (1997). Friendship. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Cicero, M. T. (2013). Friendship. Place of publication not identified: Theclassics Us.