Article Highlights:

• How I treat best friends
• Who’s my BFF?

We can’t talk about friends without thinking about BFF’s.  Who’s your best friend forever? I have a small circle of friends who fit this acronym.  They are generally the long-term keepers.  No doubt things are similar for you.

There’s one person though that you may not have on the list – YOU. Or maybe you are on your list, but you get on the “outs” with yourself from time to time. And just like when things are bumpy with your friends, this hurts.  

When we are critical and unkind to ourselves, it hurts, even if we don’t notice. Just like when you’re criticizing someone else and you don’t notice at the time how bad it makes you feel.  I give my friends a lot of latitude. They’re not perfect and sometimes stuff happens and they act even a little less perfect. It’s ok, I handle it. They give me that latitude too.  As long as there’s good communication over-all, the friendship doesn’t waver.

I trust my friends a lot too. If I think –  or hear from someone else – that they’ve done something offensive to me, I talk to them about it first.  I give them the benefit of the doubt because I know who they are.  And I talk things over with them if I hurt them.  And if I’m angry, they are the first to know, not the last.

These are the ways I treat my BFF’s, those people in my inner most circle.  It’s also how I want to be treated of course.  And this includes by me! I don’t overly make myself worry or get in my face unkindly.  I know I care, I know I’ll correct. Trust, compassion, lee-way for struggles or mistakes, honest and caring communication and constancy are my hallmarks for friendship, self-friendship included. (more…)