MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search For A New Best Friend

by Rachel Bertsche

there are four necessary behaviors to make a friendship stick. Self-disclosure, supportiveness, interaction, and positivity.

Cacioppo is the coauthor of Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection.

You need to find people with similar values, attitudes, and outlooks,” he says. “Think about what’s important to you, then find others in the same boat. Join those activities, troll those sites. Then relax. Be your generous self. You’ll meet others like you.”

Studies show that men think their wives are their best friends, and women think their best friends are their best friends.

similarity as one of the five “click accelerators” (the others are proximity, vulnerability, resonance, and a safe place).

The sound of new friends imploring you to stick around is a beautiful and powerful thing.

“Friends” charge anywhere from ten to one hundred fifty dollars per hour, though twenty to fifty dollars is the norm.

You never know what kind of opportunity a new connection might bring. And who doesn’t like to be told they’re brilliant?

Professional networking is very similar to personal friending. You have to believe that people will be open to your advances.

If I haven’t found one single best friend forever this year, maybe I’ve done one better. I’ve planted the seeds for a future in Chicago.

But my internal dialogue has shifted. Now I think, “That write-in sounds cool, maybe I’ll meet a friend there.”