Before I start, we need to untangle the definition of what a friend is. Many people consider acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors or associates as friends, but a friend is something greater than just a chit chat buddy.
A friend is a person who can understand the “skeletons in the closet.” They are those with whom we can share that which we might not even be able to share with our parents.
These are the five types of friends we encounter through our life experience. It is not easy to find the authentic ones, so we often experience a few that fall into each category. In each of the types below, you may recognize people you have experienced friendships with in the past, and may friend currently.
Here are the five types of friends you will encounter in your lifetime.
1. The Mistakes
The mistakes are friends who we thought they were friends, but they weren’t even close. When it comes to friends, we always have to sense them from the gut. Mistakes are the ones who disguise, the ones who have the power to reconsider our gut. If we weren’t lucky enough to meet our real friends during childhood, we will have a hard time with these so-called “Halloween friends.”
Always listen to your gut and you will never befriend someone by mistake.
2. The Pessimists
These friends are a bit hard to handle. I had a few friends and, as a motivator, I couldn’t get them to find a job, work on their dream, work on their success and lurk out of the comfort zone. I did reconsider them for a few months, but as I started working on my own achievements, they all returned to the comfy and safe territory. I was just spending time with people who don’t really want to be more than average.
These are also people who are hard to communicate with. You always feel tension around them and can’t be yourself. If by any chance you have these people in your life, try to help them for a while. If they still continue the non-action process, remove that toxicity from your life. Our brains are more than 80% formed by the people we are around. Make sure to find your bright niche.
3. The Scars
Have you ever had a friend you enjoyed spending time with, but your crossroads never seemed to meet? I have a few that I have to say I enjoy every second of our friendship, but I always get to see them by accident. I am always busy when they aren’t, and vice versa.
With these people we can have the best memories, but never get to share our skeletons. It becomes more like a flat connection, just happiness and joy.
4. The Optimists
These are rare people that you want to surround yourself with. The optimists always seem to look on the bright side, like the Monty Python song. They always give great ideas; they are always cheerful and never have judgments for the people that look strange to society.
These friends are warm and will always keep up a good mood around the entourage they are surrounded with.
5. The Soul Mates
Going from from the worst to the best friends we will meet or have met, we have the soul mates. These authentic friends are the ones we should never let go of. These are the people who know our body language.
Soul mates are limited edition. We cannot have more than a couple friends who know our deepest skeletons and yet share a perfect energetic bond. Soul mates are like magnetism, a force that can attract two souls that have magnetic energies.
Listen to your gut. You don’t need any more mistakes or pessimists in your life. The connections to the scars, the optimists, and–of course–the soul mates are the ones that will enrich your life.
Featured photo credit: Friends/Gerry Balding via flickr.com
