Our need for human connection extends beyond the circle of our family and our partners. We enrich our lives by being open to relationships with other people. Certainly relationships with friends take time and effort. You tend to get back what you put into the relationship in terms of emotional investment, care, consideration and generosity. These relationships can meet needs that are not fulfilled by family or even your partner. Sometimes we find friends that we share more in common with than we do with our family members. We can learn from and be inspired by our friends, or alternatively be led astray from our goals depending on the nature of the person and our own tendency to lead or follow. As with all human relationships, care should be taken to assess the influence of the friendship on the quality of your life, how it makes you feel to interact with this person, and whether your investment of time and emotional effort is beneficial to your mutual wellbeing.
Relationships with friends and other people such as coworkers, neighbors, teammates, church members, or colleagues in other shared activities are an important part of life and a vital aspect of healthy psychological functioning. We all need human contact and connection. Certainly, the importance we place on some of these relationships and the amount of time we spend on them can depend a great deal on our own personalities and needs. People that are high in extroversion trait will tend to be energized by their interactions with other people, and therefore will seek out human relationships with greater effort and frequency than those that are more introverted. Introverts tend to gain energy during periods of quiet contemplation and thinking. They are often recharged by ideas and although they can enjoy and even thrive in social situations at times, they will more often become fatigued by too much social interaction. Some people value having numerous friends and social acquaintances, whereas others prefer fewer but perhaps deeper relationships. We are all different and our relationship preference will differ as well. Isolation however, is a significant social problem and is associated with poorer health outcomes and quality of life.
Simply acknowledging the importance of human connection and the benefits to both yourself and others when you share kind words and actions with other people makes social activity a bit more desirable and easy. Developing your traits of openness and empathy can enhance all of your social relationships as well as the quality of your life experience. Sharing interests, hobbies, physical or mental activities, competition or intellectual endeavors can create strong bonds of friendship. Shared struggle is a powerful means of bringing people together in a lasting and meaningful way. Finding common causes or meaningful battles to share with others will help you find some of your closest, most trusted friends. We don't choose our families, but we can choose our friends. This gives you the power to decide how you want to spend your precious time and with whom you want to spend it. For many, friendships offer some of the most important and rewarding relationships in life.