5 Ways To Make New Friends As An Adult
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Even with a ton of social activities like school, holiday camps and sports clubs, it can be nerve-wracking to make friends for a child. There’s always that fear of rejection or not gelling with others the way you’d hoped for.
But when you are an adult, these fears can seem amplified because you have a lot of other elements about you that have shaped you into who you are up to this point.
Relationships, kids, and jobs are some of the most obvious things that take up a lot of time, change the course of our lives and prioritise our more formal commitments, but everybody needs (yes, NEEDS!) a friend.
Having a good friend/s brings a sense of comfort and stability through the good and bad times, it means you have someone to go to that summer festival with and cry over an ex with. They are a reliable support system built upon a deep connection.
So, if you dare to challenge your fears and get out there, here are some super helpful ways to make some new friends as an adult.
1. VALUE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
There has always been this illusion stemming from our childhood that you need to have loads of friends when the focus should really be on having meaningful friendships even if it’s just a few. Besides, having lots of friends means you might end up spreading your time and interest too thinly.
2. USE FRIENDSHIP APPS
If you’ve tried dating apps before then ‘matching’ with a friend online won’t be that much of a jump. In fact, you might prefer meeting a friend this way instead of attending an event, activity or workshop in hopes of making a new pal. Below are 4 very popular friendship apps you can download right now.
3. CONNECT WITH YOUR CO-WORKERS OUTSIDE OF WORK
I know what you’re thinking! Just get the job done and get out of there right? I’ve been there! Forcing myself to crack a smile when the corny joke wasn’t remotely funny, but there’s a good chance you might see a completely different side to your co-workers outside the work environment.
You’ll find that you have more in common than you thought and you can relax a little more. So try doing a fun activity or just grab something to eat with your work pal - you lose nothing!
4. BE PATIENT, AND TAKE TIME TO KNOW YOUR NEW FRIEND
A bit like romantic relationships, friendships tend to start off on ‘cloud 9’, you enjoy chatting over the phone, going out for drinks, and taking trips or vacations together, that rush of excitement in getting to know a new friend is completely normal and you should invest yourself in that and allow yourself to be somewhat vulnerable!
But retain some caution about things until you know each other a bit better. Take time to get to know your new friend before sharing very personal things about yourself for example. It takes a while to form solid and long-term connections but once you get there, you’ll likely have a friend for life!
5. LEARN TO SAY “YES”
This might be an introvert’s worst nightmare, but if you want to make a new friend you have to say “yes” and be open to exploring new opportunities and experiences with them.
And while you’re at it, invite your friend to try out something you like too! Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get out there with new connections in your life, nothing really amazing comes from inside the dreaded comfort zone anyway.
