3 Practices To Become A Better Friend To Yourself

The most important relationship you’ll ever have.

“What progress, you ask, have I made?

I have begun to be a friend to myself.”

That was indeed a great benefit; such a person can never be alone. — Seneca

What does it mean to be a genuine, good friend to someone?

The first thoughts that pop into my mind are:

• Being curious and interested in who they are; what makes them tick
• Encouraging them to explore all parts of themselves
• Challenging them when they’re being unreasonable or petty
• Responding to their failures or mistakes with kindness; forgiveness
• Respecting them, not despite but because of their shortcomings

It’s easy to answer when it’s about being a friend to someone.

Not so easy when it’s about being a friend to ourselves.

There was a time when, if I talked to my friends the way I would talk to myself — I wouldn’t have many left.

Oh, I was a great party friend to myself. Lots of fun, drinking, travelling. Hard to differentiate one year from the next. I was floating through life.