Where to you begin when looking for new adult friendships?
Making friends when your kids were young centered around you as a parent. Often as we mature we find that we are seeking friends with more diversified interests. However, it grows more difficult when we are adults, to find new friends for some simple reasons:
We grow busier with our lives and scattered in more directions.
We devote more time to our work and less to socializing on our own for ourselves.
Being unsure of where to find these new friends prevents us from trying.
However, close friendships fill an emotional need that helps us be better parents, spouses, workers, and overall people. Here are some ways to make sure you keep fostering new friendships, even in adulthood.
Try Networking Events in Your Area
Small business owner groups, young professionals, and businesspeople of all kinds enjoy scheduled events. Look for groups that meet for breakfast once a month or drinks on a Friday evening, a book group for women in business that meets regularly, a hiking club; most cities have these events. They welcome new people, since they are specifically created to connect people beyond their own social circles. You never know who you might meet.
Reach Out to Those Who Impress You
Whether you meet someone at a networking event, a PTA meeting, or just at the grocery store, one of the main reasons adults have a hard time making new friends is because no one makes a first move. Email or text people who you find interesting, and they will usually be relieved, impressed, and happy that someone reached out to them to get coffee or get to know each other. You will be surprised how open women are to expanding their social circles with new friends.
Do Activities Together That You Both Want to Do Anyway
We all need a good reason to go to the gym, see a new film, explore a museum exhibit or a fun city neighborhood. Do you feel strange asking someone to do activities like this? This step might mean that instead of just thinking it saying it and committing to doing it with someone else can make it happen You might find a new acquaintance through your candid wish for a morning walk partner. Take a "risk" and ask someone you want to spend more time with to coffee, see what it may lead to.