10 Inspiring Women Share Tips on Friendship
Hey there,
Last newsletter, we started a conversation about friendships — how we nurture them, how we maintain them, how we keep ourselves honest in them.
Your answers and tips and ideas reminded me that we're all trying to be better. We're all trying to communicate more clearly and listen with intention. We're all trying to take things less personally and make sure the people we love know how often we think of them. We're all trying to give ourselves permission to be honest about our needs while recognizing the needs of others.
Here are a few of your ideas and reminders:
"I have collaborative playlists [on Spotify] with my girlfriends. Whenever they find something, they put it on." - Natalie Kuhn
"I set an intention to just send those short and sweet texts whenever I'm thinking of someone." - LJT
"I try to listen w/o offering advice or criticism, and only if asked will I provide my two cents." - Mary A
"I let friends know what workout classes I'm doing for the week and invite them to join/grab coffee after. Whether or not they like working out or ever join, they know the invite stands and it keeps me accountable to my plan!" - Anon
"For a solid 6 months, one friend and I held what we called a 'daily positive party' or DPP. DPP was an email we'd send every day about something positive (or 3 things) that happened to us that day. This posture of gratitude helped each of us as individuals. It also helped change our relationship from one based on shoulder-to-cry-and-complain on to one of celebrating what's good in the world." - Madeline S
"My girlfriends and I have a standing dinner once per month and I try to make one per quarter — and they know it!" - Mary A
"I love these postcards by Molly McLeod "Postcards to a friend." I have several packets and randomly send them to friends." - Jamie-Alexis Fowler
"[I try to figure out] what does quality time mean to each of us, how can we recognize each others efforts better and not just have our own narrative of things without getting too calculative." - Anon
"Tag them all in memes on instagram! It's a nice, friendly (and humorous — and quick!)) reminder that we all care." - Anon
"Minimize my use of social media and examine the friendships I have and how much effort I want to put into them (especially if others are constantly responding how busy they are!). I've stopped telling friends how busy I am and instead focus on finding a day/time. I have some friends that I have to plan a month in advance and others that prefer to be called at a moment's notice. I think the big thing is I've worked on not taking it personally." - Sarah W
Of course, we cannot be good friends to others unless we are good friends to ourselves. Next week, we'll talk a little more about how to do that.
Thank you, as always, for your vulnerability and honesty. If more come to mind, our form is still open. Sharing is always welcome.
xo, Molly
Permission Granted
…to self-examine
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