Look at your Facebook page, do you have hundreds, maybe thousands of “friends”? What about Twitter, Instagram, BlogFrog, and all the other networks, how many total follows and friends do you have? Social media has opened a whole new world of friends. We constantly build relationships every day. Your mother used to tell you, “You can count your true friends on one hand”. That has now proven to be false. I can say I have been truly blessed with some of the friendships I’ve built online. Most of these friendships strengthen online as time goes on but when you meet in person you create a bond.

“A cheerful friend is like a sunny day spreading brightness all around.”
– John Lubcock ( English Astronomer )

@TonyaStaab

When growing up there were always circles of friends, this is true online too, only on a larger scale.

• You have your inner circle, these are the friends who you can tell a secret to and you know they would never tell it…to anyone. This circle has very few people in it.
• Then there’s the In Circle, these are the friends who will give it to you straight up and who truly support you. When they say congratulations, they mean it. You are constantly sharing goals, dreams, and lessons learned. You’ll find this circle has many people in it.
• Next is your outer circle. These friends will support you if asked but you’re not on each others radar. There’s quite a mix in this circle. Some of these people will say congratulations to you and when they get to their inner circle, they’ll complain that you don’t deserve your accomplishment. There are also friends who you can reach out to at any time.
• There’s Club circles. These are the friends who you meet in groups and forums. You sometimes get into a great club that keeps everything on a professional level and everyone gets along great and you receive a lot of support.

Lastly you have your Besties– This could be someone you talk to everyday or at least every other day. They may live across the country and you communicate online or by phone, or they can live down the street from you and you see them all the time. Sometimes a bestie can be the worst thing in the world for you. How? If one of your besties (Or someone in one of your circles) is a miserable person, nothing makes them happy, a complainer, a flappin lip gossiper, non goal or dream driven…..you know the type, the Debbie Downers. I’m sure someone popped in your head.  You need to cut your ties! Did you know that if you surround yourself with these types of friends you can kiss your dreams goodbye? Well it’s true. Surround yourself with positive people and positivity will come out, they don’t need to be your best friend or in your closest circles. Milk does the body good. Positive people does the brain and soul good.

I’d rather have an enemy that hates me instead of friends who secretly put me down ~unknown

No makeup in this world can cover up an ugly heart ~unknown

I encourage you to take a step back and access your friendships. We all have bad days and need to vent to our friends but if you are spending every day trying to pick up a friends spirit, the time has come to move on. Sometimes there’s no making some people happy. Once you move on, you’ll feel refreshed and free. If you were married or in an abusive relationship, you’d leave right? So now is your time to reach for the stars and find those friends who will reach with you or better yet, help you build your rocket to get there.

Friendship isn’t about whom you have known the longest… It’s about who came, and never left your side…