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Your partner is your best friend and they are always there for you when you need them. However, solid relationships are built around two people who have a life together and a life of their own. Both partners need trust and independence for the relationship to work and this is where your friends come in. You and your partner need to spend some time alone with your friends to keep those relationships alive and to strengthen your own. There are many reasons why time with your friends is important and understanding this will help you to ensure that you get plenty of friend time and a better intimate relationship with your partner. Additional Soul Mates While your partner is your soulmate, your friends are your soul mates too, just on a platonic level. You have a connection with your friends that you have to nourish to ensure that it remains strong. There are things that your friends can do for you that your romantic relationship cannot and you need to feed this connection on a regular basis. It is important to note that you have to give attention to your platonic soul mates to maintain this relationship so that you can maintain a solid balance between your friendships and your romantic relationships. Friends Need Your Attention Too When you are in a romantic relationship, it is common to naturally put more focus on your romantic partner. Most people do this subconsciously without realizing that they are not giving their friends all of the attention that they need. It is important to be mindful of how much you are giving to each of your friendships so that all of your close friends are getting regular attention from you. Your friends center you and you center them, so being available for each other is critical. Being Your Best Self The most critical way to learn more about yourself to improve yourself is through your friendships. Your friends are always honest with you and they usually have known you longer than your romantic partner. They are not afraid to lovingly tell you when you are doing something wrong, allowing you to learn from your mistakes and grow. Your friendships also boost your confidence and self-esteem, allowing you to be a person who is not afraid to take risks and improve upon your life. Getting Through Hard Times Not all romantic relationships are meant to last forever and when they end, it is common to feel down and lose some of your confidence as these are a normal part of the process. Since your partner is no longer there when this happens, you need to be able to lean on your friends and get support. When you nurture your friendships during the times that you have romantic relationships, you can be sure that you can count on these friends to understand what you are going through and to be there to help you pick yourself back up and re-enter the dating pool. Different Types of Friendships You have a variety of friends and all of them provide a different type of friendship and this is important. You have a friend that helps you to break out of your shell and try new things, a friend who makes you feel beautiful and a friend who is always there when something is wrong. While your partner can also provide this for you, it is important to have someone outside of your relationship that can do this just in case it is your relationship that you need help with. It also makes you a better partner when the things your partner does for you are reinforced by your friends. Since different types of friendships have different benefits, it is important to surround yourself with people who you can trust and count on. You also need to reciprocate this so that your friendship bond gets stronger with time. While you and your partner share everything, there are some things that are easier to talk about with your friends. Getting advice from your friends about your relationship is a common example. It is also nice to just be apart sometimes so that both of you can explore the things you love that the other is not crazy about. How often you need friend time ultimately depends on you and your friends, but ideally, you want to make time to be with just them at least once or twice a month to keep your friendships strong. - Rosemary Kitchen Resources Collingwood, J. (2008). The Importance of Friendship. Retrieved on February 5, 2015 from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-importance-of-friendship/0001381 |
