Shared Experiences Make Long Lasting Friendships

There are many ingredients that go into developing a long lasting friendship. You need some loyalty, a good measure of common interests, and a heaping helping of mutual respect, to name just a few. However, all of those ingredients are useless if they're not bound together by shared experiences.

Shared Experiences?

The glue that helps hold a friendship together is spending as much time with your friends as possible, enjoying good times, and sometimes not so good times. In other words, have many shared experiences. The more time you spend with your friends, the more you get to know, understand, trust, and yes, love your friends.

Schedule a Monthly Get-Together

For you to befriend someone you must have some common interest that has drawn the two of you together. Set a date at least once a month to enjoy that favorite hobby or pastime with your friends. I find that scheduling a monthly “let’s catch a movie” night with my friends makes it easier for everyone to get together on a regular basis.

Holidays

My friend Jack hosts an all you can eat barbecue for all his friends and family at the local state park every 4th of July. Its always a huge success, rain or shine, drawing people from as far away as Brazil. Jack says that the barbecue is a great way to stay close with his friends that live near by, and keep in touch with friends who have moved away.

Vacations

Going away on vacation with your friends can create shared experiences that will be remembered for years to come. Plan carefully, keeping everyone’s tastes and budgets in mind, and the trip will be stress free and wonderful. And don't forget to take lots of pictures for those future walks down memory lane.

Host a Dinner Party

If your friends are anything like mine, they like to eat. Inviting your friends over for a meal is a great way to have shared experiences that can be as elaborate as you want, or as simple. You can serve a six-course meal or order pizza, its up to you. Rent a movie, get out your favorite board game, or simply talk, and your dinner party will be a shared experience success.

Grab a Cup of Coffee

Meeting up with friends for a quick cup of coffee, or perhaps going out for a beer after work is a good way to build up your friendships when you have a very busy schedule. Spending an hour or so with friends on a regular basis is even better then the occasional special outing.

Make That Telephone Call

If you don't even have time to grab that quick drink, all is not lost. Keeping in touch via telephone is something you can do whenever that spare moment arises. Call your friends often and see how your friendships will thrive.

Share the Bad Times

Unfortunately life is full of bad experiences. Don't ruin friendships by being a fair-weather friend.

Never forgot to give your condolences when your friends lose a loved one, and as unpleasant as they are, attend the funeral if it’s at all possible. Be there as a shoulder to cry on when your friends romantic relationships end badly, and don't abandon your friends when they're sick. Sharing their pain is one of the best ways to show you care about someone, and it will make your friendship stronger then ever before.

Nothing builds a stronger, long lasting relationship with friends then having a variety of shared experiences with them. After all, what are friends for?