As we celebrate International Day of Friendship today!
From the on screen friendships of Thelma & Louise, Bert & Ernie, Butch Casiddy and The Sundance Kid, through to real life best buds James Franco & Seth Rogan, Oprah & Gayle, we love celebrating Hollywood friendships!
Friendships are essential to living a happy, balanced life, and have even been scientifically proven to impact on our health with studies showing friendships can extend your life expectancy, help keep your mind sharp, and generally keep you in better health.
New York Times best selling author Dan Buettner has spent his life studying the secrets of the worlds healthiest and longest living people.
“I argue that the most powerful thing you can do to add healthy years is to curate your immediate social network,” said Mr. Buettner, who advises people to focus on three to five real-world friends rather than distant Facebook friends.
“Your group of friends are better than any drug or anti-aging supplement, and will do more for you than just about anything.”
So when it comes to friendships of our own, how can we make sure we’re being a good friend to the loved ones in our lives?
- Be honest: A good friend will tell you the truth, even if it’s hard, because they love you.
- Be accepting: Life isn’t easy, and there are times when your friends will make choices that you don’t understand, but that’s not your job. Your job is to support them no matter what.
- Make time for them: We all lead busy lives, good friends will find time for a phone call, a coffee catchup, or even just a check in to let your friend know you’re thinking of them.
- Be trustworthy: We often share our deepest secrets or personal thoughts with our friends, so being able to keep these to ourselves is important. It’s also important to demonstrate trust and loyalty to your friend when they’re not around.
- Be low maintenance: Life happens! Your friends will fall in love, be busy at work, have children, and they might not always have time to catch up, but this shouldn’t determine your friendship. Good friends can pick up right back where they left off with no added guilt.
In tough times like these during lockdown around the country and the globe, it’s important to let our friends know we’re thinking about them.
This international day of friendship, send your friend a text, schedule time for a video call or even surprise them with a thoughtful gift, we have some beautiful options to choose from below, or let them choose for themselves with a gift voucher!
