It’s important you surround yourself with good friends. You can tell what type of friend you are by paying attention – look at Aristotle’s description of friendship.
Aristotle described three kinds of friendship — note not everyone is a best friend. After looking at the models below, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate your friendships.
#1 Useful or selfish friendships — you buy stuff from and sell stuff to people. You are useful to each other, and you wish each other well, but these friendships tend to last about as long as the utility lasts. (I love what you do for me. If you quit doing it for me, I’ll find someone else who will.)
#2 Pleasurable friendships — you delight in each other’s company or bodies. These are people you love to be around. To Aristotle, this is a much higher friendship than useful friends. (You please me, and when I’m no longer pleased with you, I’ll find someone else.)
#3 The ultimate kind of friendship — the one that really lasts, is when you love the same thing, and that thing is “high”. For example, in the military esprit de corps (is a common devotion to a cause among the members of a group) is considered a high thing (If you love the same thing and it’” low”, it will be corrupting, and you’ll turn on each other.)
Another way to look at friendship is:
- A good friend will do what is best for you.
- A good friend will never knowingly say or do anything that would hurt you.
- A good friend will help and support you if you are down. They would not stand by and let you hurt yourself.
- A good friend will never be jealous of your success. Success won’t change the relationship.
- Patience — good friends never pressure their friends.
- Consideration — in every relationship you are the kindest most considerate person on the planet — no one-up-man-ship. You celebrate other people’s stories.
- You come before me/unselfish attitude — I don’t advance my own interests, desires and goals.
- Someone who does what is best for you
- Someone who never knowingly says or does anything that will hurt you
- Someone who helps and supports you when you are down. The one who does not stand by and let you hurt yourself
- Someone who is not jealous of your success (The person who knows that any success will not change their relationship.)
You have got to figure out who loves you. You can tell just by observing. The people, who love you, treat you differently.
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