The best present is a good friend
When you get older, you’re lucky to have a few good friends. Friends that will give you honesty, loyalty, and opportunities. Friends that don’t force you to hide your personality.
Every year, when friends and family ask me what I want for Christmas, I will always defer to spending time with them. Arguably, it is the most precious resource, but it’s something money can’t truly buy.
A conversation or time spent reflecting with good friends is worth more than any pair of shoes or shirt that I may get. Instead of waiting until Christmas to give out presents, let’s look to give gifts and friendship year-round.
Moment of enlightenment
It’s so cliche how you only learn the best things too late—in my case, making sure I take better care of my friends year round. I remember trying to get a friend gift and concluding that I knew nothing about their likes and dislikes.
I’d failed as a friend was my first thought. We spent time together but I didn’t really get to learn about them. Maybe it wasn’t significant that I knew their favorite color or song, but I didn’t even know what they wanted to pursue for their career goals or their aspirations.
The focus wasn’t on learning about them, it was more on just the task or activity at hand. I knew I had to make this shift as I got older and realized that the connections I’ve had with long-term friends weren’t as deep and meaningful as I’d thought.
I’ve read about how successful people help out their friends with connections and opportunities, and I’ve done nothing of the sort for my friends. Not even a piece of advice or any initiative on my part.
I started to take more initiative but soon realized it was for selfish reasons. I only did it with the motive that they would return the favor—twice-fold was my hope. My friends saw right through me and credit to them, they called me out on it.
You can’t make good friends when all you do is think about yourself. This truth hit me hard because I believed I was doing something good. I just justified everything and went on with my merry way.
The giving spirit
I struggle with putting the mindset of a giving person. It wasn’t something that was taught or instilled in me at a young age. I was fortunate enough to be taught at an older age and am still taking baby steps to become someone who takes initiative to help and think of others.
What’s funny is the amount of energy it takes to focus on thinking and put myself in the mindset to give. My initial reaction was how selfish of a person I must have been all these years. But, if you feel the same way, it’s just natural when you’re just learning something for the first time.
You won’t be able to dribble a basketball or give a public speech well if you don’t practice. Yes, you’ll fumble and make all kinds of mistakes, but that’s just the path of a beginner.
If the people in your life are truly great, then why not take the extra time to do something for them?
I had a coworker who would stay up all night before Christmas Eve to bake the office cookies. We had at least 60-70 employees, and she made sure to give every single one of us a bag of cookies and a card. From executives to the Janitor, she made sure all of us felt the love.
She said she was thankful for everyone and that we all had a successful year because of the team effort. She meant every single word and was a source of good in humanity for the company. It wasn’t a surprise that everything changed when she left the company.
Even though it’s supposed to be the giving season, I will carry out this practice and thinking year-round.
I no longer ask for gifts because good friends are all I need from Santa.
Happy Holidays everybody!
*Check out my last article on It’s okay to share sh*tty work*
If you’ve enjoyed my articles, please subscribe and share! Please connect with me on :