Making friends as an adult is a daunting task and one that can be hard to even talk about! Join us today as Megan and Kelly break down the barriers most of us feel prevent us from making friends as an adult, bringing a lightheartedness to a deep-seated worry that many of us are too afraid to admit. We dive into the discussion with how the phase of life that we are in impacts the ease with which we make friends, and what the role of a friend is. From why it's not a good idea to try to make and maintain friendships when you're in a busy phase of life to the different approaches to emotions and topics of discussion between two friends, this episode has it all. We hear how both Megan and Kelly have struggled to make friends, and how Megan overcame it. We also discover some great tips on how to go about making friends as an adult, such as joining a group of like-minded individuals in a social activity, to simply starting a conversation with someone you see regularly. We discuss the horrors of small talk, and how to cope when faced with someone less friendly than you! So, if you’re looking to learn how to add a friend to your naturally diminishing social circle, join us for this fabulous discussion.

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to today’s topic: making friends as an adult!
• How the ease with which we make friends changes over different phases of life. 
• Why it’s not fair to try and make or maintain friendships when you’re in a busy phase of life. 
• The importance of having friends outside of your partner or family: nourishing different pieces of you.
• Facing down the Mom guilt to take time for yourself.
• How friends who handle emotions differently can benefit each other, and why it’s important not to change them. 
• The first tip on how to make friends as an adult: find a shared interest group. 
• Why it’s crucial to put yourself out there, and advice on how to start a conversation. 
• The types of groups that are best suited to making friends. 
• Megan and Kelly’s horror stories of small talk, and how to survive it!
• Understanding the seasons of life and how these affect your friendships. 
• The second tip on opening communication: picking the right topic and tone. 
• Why relying on family for friendship is not a good idea.
• A wrap of today’s episode, and a call to send in your bestie meet-cute!

Tweetables:

“If it's not a group of people that you see every day for a reason like at school or at work or something like that, it can be really hard to not only make those friendships but maintain them.” — Kelly Castillo [0:03:47]

“I’m really big on effort and I don’t think that the label ‘Best friend’ is just a given thing. I think it's an earned thing, and I think it's something that you showcase on a consistent basis.” — Megan Block [0:07:56]

“There's so many pieces to us, that we're not just a mom, we're not just a wife, we're not just whatever. You need adult friends so that you can feel that piece of you so that when you come back home, you're a more well-rounded person. Because I think a lot of resentment can build up when you don't have that piece of you.” — Megan Block [0:10:33]

“[Adult friendship is] one of those things where you just after being around someone's energy and talking to them, you just know and then it grows from there, or sometimes, it doesn’t.” — Megan Block [0:20:34]

“When you make an adult friend, it's like a little flex.” — Megan Block [0:26:24]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Step Brothers

Euphoria

Revel

Mothers of Preschoolers