Friendships are not easy to come by. Like developing a new and unique recipe, friendships need time and patience. With the right technique and a little bit of effort, a good friendship can result in a satisfying and life-long relationship. Three key ingredients to a good friendship are loyalty, honesty and respect. Loyalty refers to constant support and allegiance. This can be as simple as one being loyal to one’s favourite sports team or one’s favourite coffee shop.
However, loyalty can also play a more significant role. In order to demonstrate this, a loyal friend needs to be available for the most part, on an emotional level, but also be available on an intellectual and even physical level. Regardless of the situation, dependability is essential. For example, if one loses his job, and then his home, a loyal friend would help by loaning money, by taking him in to his home, or by helping him find a job for as long as it takes. Serious health issues test friendships, but loyalty remains priceless to an ailing individual. A loyal friend would not desert a dying individual, especially if he has a disease that is feared by many, like AIDS. A loyal friend will always have one’s back.
Honesty is the act of being open and truthful. An honest friend can tell you when you have a bad haircut or when you have spinach in your teeth. This honesty might be awkward to take at first, but the nature of it is to save one from further embarrassment.
Honesty fosters trust and must be earned. When trust is absent from a friendship, one cannot know when one is being told the truth. However, the honesty in a friendship must be sincere and fair; otherwise, the blunt truth can be hurtful. Believing and trusting an honest friend allows one to be open to new ideas. For example, friends who confront an alcoholic about his drinking in an intervention are doing so because they are sincerely concerned about his well-being. The truth might be difficult for the