We would like to take a moment to acknowledge one of the most critical relationships to our existence – FRIENDSHIP. It is an amazing privilege to have the ability to choose those individuals that would inevitably contribute to our lives, whether for a season, or for a lifetime. You are stuck with your family, but you get to choose the folks you exercise with, hang out with, have dinner with and travel the world with. Good friendships are hard to find, however when you do find them, here are a few ways your friendships benefit you (heavy emphasis on the GOOD here!):

Increase your sense of belonging and purpose

Boost your happiness and reduce your stress

Encourage your self-confidence and self-worth

Help in supporting you through difficult seasons and circumstances

Always wanting the best for you and willing to help you get there 

Cultivating and maintaining the friendships that are most important to you takes effort however, the personal investment of your time, emotions, and sometimes even money, makes it all worth it. Always remember that quality trumps quantity every time. Having a good network of friends is great but those core, foundational people and critical to keeping you sane!

As two friendship observances have just passed us, July 30^th being International Friendship Day as well as August 7^th being National Friendship day, we encourage our community of #gogivers to nurture your friendships by being kind, remembering to listen, opening up, demonstrating trustworthiness, making yourself available and by being mindful. It is NEVER too late to establish new friendships or reconnect with old ones. The return on the investment of making friends and strengthening your relationships, will be evident for years to come!

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget” - unknown