Haven’t you looked at people and wondered how they manage to attract more friends? Some people never lack for friends and not the ones who are there just in your good times. Friends are those who are always there for you – you can laugh with them and you can cry with them; you can hang out with them and when you fall, you know they are there to pick you up.

But, making friends is not all that easy. Ask someone who knows! You have to work on the relationship, nurture it and let it grow. You have to change your thinking and only then you can make friends – true friends.

Given below are 6 simple tips to help you make new friends –

1. Focus on positives – Everyone has positive and negative qualities. An easy way to drive people away is to focus on their negatives and point them out time and again. Instead, if you look for their good points and their strengths, won’t you be befriending them? And, if you focus on a person’s negatives, why would that person want to be friends with you? It is not as if you are totally faultless.
2. Smile – A smile goes a long way in befriending people. Even if you are not stretching your lips but are internally serene and smiling, other people around you will feel it and be attracted to you. The smile will reflect in your words and actions, whether you are on a social networking site or physically present.
3. Be Positive – The effect of positive thinking cannot be stressed enough. If you want to befriend someone, then you will have to tell them what good you see in them. Tell them that you care for them and make them laugh by quoting funny quotes.
4. Don’t Hold Grudges – Most people have this tendency to hold grudges. And the sooner they realize the futility of holding a grudge, the better. You only lose friends that way. Everyone has faults and when you hold a grudge, you are focusing on the faults of that person. Instead, let it go and cleanse your heart. No doubt the other person has given you grief but letting the grief fester will only make your heart hard and block all beautiful emotions. Focus on what is now and forget all past grudges.
5. Help Others – One of the reasons why most people remain friends is because of their helpful nature. When you help a person without expecting anything in return, you make a friend for life. You don’t have to help financially, lending thousands of dollars. The smallest of helpful gesture can help. It can be as small as cooking for your friend when she is sick or taking her child to school when she is unable to.
6. Be Grateful – Just as you help your friend when she needs someone, be grateful when someone helps you. Appreciate each friendly gesture and don’t take them for granted. This will strengthen the bonds of friendship.

Friendship is a relationship that needs work. The more you work on it and look at the positive attributes of your friends, the bigger friend-magnet you will be.