“The first thing I’d say if you want to be intentional about making friends is to tell other people, because it’s likely that 95% of them feel the exact same way.” - Danielle Jackson

Making friends as an adult can be hard! It’s something we’ve talked about before on our podcast, and this week, we’ve brought in an expert Danielle Jackson to share real, actionable tips to make and maintain our friendships. 

Danielle is a mom of 2 (her youngest was just 2-months-old when we recorded this episode). So, she understands that it can feel hard to prioritize friendship when you’re a new parent or running after a toddler, but that doesn’t meant it isn’t worth it. To quote Danielle: 

“Getting together with another woman helps us to de-stress. I say that for those  of us who are like ‘I don’t have time to go out with my friends’, you need it. You need that time. Your kids will be better for it.”

Ok, so we know friendships are important and can help to fill our own cup so we can give to our families. But, how can we make and maintain friendships? Danielle has us covered here, too, by inviting us to re-think what “counts” as spending time with friends. Maybe a night out for dinner and drinks is replaced with running errands together. Or, a movie night is replaced by a phone call while folding laundry. These lower stakes, less-time-intensive moments are still so important to maintaining friendships. And, they can really fill us up during busy times.  

Danielle also shares ideas on how to reconnect with friends that we’ve lost touch with, including how to work through conflict to save a friendship. Christy shares her own appreciation for a friend who was willing to share how Christy had hurt her feelings so that they could rebuild their friendship and make it stronger going forward.

One of our favorite pieces of advice in this episode is Danielle’s reminder that most everyone is looking to make friends and her encouragement to be the one to make the first move. It can feel awkward, but it’s such a gift to others to be the one to send the text or write the email to set up a friendship date!

There’s so much more to hear from Danielle in this week’s episode. Listen here and share your thoughts with Christy by emailing her at cpo@hicolugo.com!