How to Know If You Have a Bad Friend
Happiness is contagious, but so is sadness
A Harvard Medical Study of 5,000 people over 20 years shows that happy friends make us happier people, even up to three degrees of separation and for a whole year. Having happy friends increases your happiness by 15 percent, and maintaining unhappy friends decreases your happiness mojo by 7 percent.
Both Aristotle and Plato say having friends is the quality of living a good life. Plato devoted the better part of three books to friendship and love: the Lysis, Phaedrus, and Symposium. And Aristotle praises the Greek concept of “philia:” the fostering of friendship or brotherly love.
Friendship is fostered in mutual understanding and respect. People who have compatible likenesses, personalities, and trust with one another are likely to be good friends. Friends show up for each other in good times and in bad times. It brings to mind the popular good friend poem:
A Friend in need is a friend indeed.
When it counts, friends show up for each other, but sometimes friends go separate ways. Usually, this happens when a mutual activity two people enjoy ceases or when a friend fails to show up consistently or in significant ways. Sometimes life gets in the way, but mostly friends cease to be…
