Five ways to make friends as an adult

One thing that happens once you grow older is, your circle becomes smaller. Over the years you let go of the childish friendships as some relationships just die off naturally.

A big issue that people barely talk about is the loneliness that builds up at this point. And to be honest, there’s nothing enjoyable about being by yourself in an empty house with no one to talk to.

Making friends when you’re grown isn’t as easy at is was in childhood. All you needed to do then is introduce yourself and ask if you could play together and you magically had a best friend. But now, things are more complicated.

You don’t have to close yourself off to the idea of making new friends regardless of how old you are. You still have the chance to create beautiful, meaningful friendships.

How do you start the journey of making new connections in your adult life? We have some tips

Volunteer groups are the perfect place to meet new people. At the same time, you get to give back to the community as you interact with people from different walks of life.

The good thing about volunteer groups is that you’re all meeting for a common cause so you don’t have to worry about searching for companions on your own.

This humble environment will allow you to thrive because you’re all putting your differences aside and focusing on genuine goals.

Bring your family members closer to you. If you’ve been very isolated in the past, try and get to know and appreciate those who are already around you.

You don’t force issues with those who aren’t interested in bonding with you but focus on the ones who have a natural connection with you. It could be your distant cousins, in laws or even siblings.

Having these types of friends is important because you know they genuinely love you and appreciate you.

Having friends at a work environment is undeniably tricky. Most people don’t bother to get to know each other on a deeper level but that doesn’t mean that you can’t bond.

You can start by interacting with more people so that you can get to predict who you can get along with and who you can’t. From there you can move on to form an acquaintance type relationship that could gradually turn into a genuine friendship.

I would add that you should be extra careful though. Don’t be too eager to get personal with people before you actually get to know them. Bad friends at the work place can cost you your job.

Something you could also try is working with the friends you already have. Maybe you’re more introverted and less enthusiastic about meeting random people so this is something that could work for you.

When you meet new friends through a friend, you can already be sure that they’re people you can get along with. Besides, this is more encouraging than walking up to total strangers out there.

You can all hang out together from time to time as you get to know them - then form your power squad.

One mistake that people make is always waiting for someone else to make plans. At the end of it all, none of you will initiate anything and your friendship slowly dies.

You could have recently connected with someone from your gym or at the recent meeting you went to which means the friendship is still fresh. Maybe you can do reach out to them and invite them over for an afternoon of coffee or a fun hiking date so that you can get to interact more and solidify the friendship.

Remember, one has to be intentional for the friendship to grow and thrive.