Friendships are an essential part of life and they’re what makes life worth living. Your friends are there for you in both difficult and happy times, and a real friend would drop anything just to support you.
Without friends, life wouldn’t as interesting as you’d have nobody to share significant memories and experiences with.
Your friends are there for you no matter what you need and even in the darkest moments, they’ll be by your side to lift you. In this article, we’ll be discussing the 11 key characteristics of a true friend.
What Makes Someone a True Friend
There are a lot of characteristics that make someone qualified for being a true friend, one of them is the ability to support you through ups and downs.
They should never leave you in moments when you’re too distraught and devastated to function but rather, they’re by your side to offer you every bit of advice and encouragement you need to get through it all.
A real friend will not only give you support, but they’ll be honest and frank with you enough to tell you the truth about the situation.
No matter how difficult it gets, they will stick with you through everything and they’ll listen to your rants in life.
11 Key Characteristics of a True Friend
1. They’re trustworthy
A real friend should be nothing less than trustworthy and reliable since they’re someone you share your secrets and rant about life.
They should be trustworthy enough to keep all your secrets to just themselves and nobody else.
2. They’re supportive
This is one of the defining factors that makes someone your true friend since they should support your dreams and aspirations in life. When you have a dream you want to accomplish, they should encourage and motivate you towards it instead of away from it.
The last thing you need in a friend is someone who finds your dreams and successes threatening and competitive because that’s not a real friend.
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3. They’re accepting
A real friend should accept you as you are because for instance, if they do everything to change you into a version that fits their standards, that’s not a real friend but someone who just likes seeing the potential of you.
A real friend would be accepting of both your best aspects and your flaws unconditionally.
4. They’re a good listener
A good friend would be someone who actively listens to everything you have to say and not just to say their side of things.
They listen so they can give the right advice because they care deeply about you. If you have someone that listens just to respond, that’s a red flag.
5. They’re emotionally available
You need someone emotionally available as this isn’t just a quality needed in healthy relationships, but also friendships. They should be able to acknowledge your emotions for what they are and make you feel heard and understood.
A real friend doesn’t need to be within proximity to you to be emotionally available.
6. They have similar interests as you
Everyone has different interests but this acts as your common ground in friendships.
For instance, if you find someone with a mutual interest in reading books, this strengthens your friendships and gives you so much to talk about.
Your personalities and values may contrast, but one thing you can count on is your similarities and interests.
7. They stay through tough times
The real test in friendship is found in their ability to stay through tough times, no matter what happens. If you’ve been distraught by a heartbreak, a real friend should be by your side, even when you don’t feel okay.
They do everything they can to support you and they choose to be with you, even in the moments when you aren’t at your best.
8. They meet your halfway
It isn’t just relationships that require you to meet things halfway, but this goes for relationships as well. They should meet you halfway and you should be able to see their efforts in your friendships.
The last thing you deserve is someone who lets you do all the effort in the friendship, whether it’s constantly listening to their stories or not going the distance of meeting at your convenience.
9. They want the best for you
A true friend should want the best for you in all areas of your life so if they’re anything that resembles something toxic, manipulative, and draining to you, then that’s not a friend you deserve to have around at all.
Similar to healthy relationships, you need a friend that brings out your best aspect and genuinely cares in bring out your best. They won’t try to compete with you and won’t feel threatened when you achieve goals faster or better than they have.
10. They’re consistent
You don’t need a friend that just reaches out when they need something from you, only to use you or take advantage of you – this is the type of friend you should stay away from at all costs.
Rather, you need someone consistent and reliable at all times. Whenever they reach out to you, it isn’t because they need someone, but they genuinely want to check how you’re doing.
11. They’re loyal
Loyalty comes extremely rare in friendships so when you find this in someone, keep them at all costs.
When you have someone loyal, you can be sure they won’t betray you or stab you behind you back in every chance they get. Loyalty is everything when it comes to real friendships.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article was able to shed insight into everything you needed to know about finding true friendships. When you find the right people to consider your friends, keep them around and treasure them as they come rarely in your life.
True friends are what make life better and they’re also considered as your family since you can count on them no matter what difficult situation you’re going through.