There are so many ways to make new friends such as joining a sports team, taking part in community activities, or traveling. And there is no doubt that a friend in need is a friend indeed because he can help you out when you are in trouble or encourage you when you are frustrated (沮丧). Personally, joining a sports team will be my first choice.

The primary reason for this is that everyone in a sports team has the same interest, which is the most fundamental (基础的) character for friends. Because of it, they will become your potential friends so that the chance to be true friends is very high. In addition, the same interest can give you a lot of topics to talk about with your friends in daily conversation.

Another factor that should be taken into consideration is the memory. After you fight for a goal with your partners, it will leave you a good experience, which is necessary for a long-lasting friendship. I used to be a player in the basketball team of my high school. Even though it was five years ago, I can remember all the exciting moments when we fought for the championship as if they happened yesterday. And although we went to different universities, we get together so many times. 

In addition, trust is also an important aspect. As we know, keeping trust is the most important thing in the team because it can make you be together all the time. Furthermore, you can share happiness and sadness with reliable friends and they will make you feel life is beautiful and that the future is bright.

Join a sports team, and your new friends are waiting for you.

One person’s happiness causes a chain reaction that benefits not only their friends, but their friends’ friends, and their friends’ friends’ friends. The effect lasts for up to one year. The opposite, interestingly, is not the case: Sadness does not spread through social networks as strongly as happiness. Happiness appears to love company more so than misery.

Focusing on 4,739 individuals, Christakis and Fowler, who co-authored this study, observed more than 50,000 social and family ties and analyzed the spread of happiness throughout this group. The researchers found that when an individual becomes happy, a friend living within a mile experiences a 25 percent increased chance of becoming happy. A co-resident spouse (配偶) experiences an 8 percent increased chance, siblings (兄弟姐妹) living within one mile have a 14 percent increased chance, and for next-door neighbors, 34 percent. But the real surprise came with indirect relationships. Again, while an individual becoming happy increases his friend’s chances, a friend of that friend experiences a nearly 10 percent chance of increased happiness, and a friend of that friend has a 5.6 percent increased chance.

The researchers also found that, contrary to what your parents taught you, popularity does lead to happiness. People in the center of their network groups are the most likely people to become happy, and then there are chances that increase to the extent that the people surrounding them also have lots of friends. However, becoming happy does not help migrate a person from the network fringe (外围) to the center. Happiness spreads through the network without changing its structure.

“Imagine a bird’s eye view of a backyard party,” Fowler explains. “You’ll see people in groups at the center, and others on the fringe. The happiest people tend to be the ones in the center. But someone on the fringe who suddenly becomes happy, say through a particular exchange, doesn’t suddenly move into the center of the group. He simply stays where he is—only now he has a far more satisfying sense of well-being.”

Next time, if you’re happy and you know it, thank your friends—and their friends. And while you’re at it, their friends’ friends. But if you’re sad, hold the blame.

We are all born social and company to live happy and fruitful life. Healthy and supportive mutual relationships help reduce stress and promote the, physical, mental and emotional well-being by building skills like time management, assertiveness( 坚定自信), sociability and empathy.

Making friends has made me feel secure. However, I have to be cautious to pick up friends sharing similar tastes and values. In addition, having added to one’s circle of friends helps one feel supported.

It is true that finding time to cultivate relationships is all about effective time management. My busy uncle finds time to catch up with family and friends during his tea and lunch breaks. Similarly my friend Somya uses her time on her way back home from work in her chauffeur-driven car to catch up with people. The modern inventions of SMS and e-mail help send wishes for birthdays and anniversaries to show your love and care.

Assertiveness is as much applicable to relationships. My friend Mohana emphasizes that neither being a passive observer nor being aggressive helps relationships. It is assertiveness in our relationships that opens the lines of effective communication. It emphasizes helping friends in need and also strengthens mutually supportive relationships.

It is also true that assertiveness by intuition promotes discretion(自行决定权) of friends and helps Lalitha distinguish positive people from drains of energy. She can easily figure this out by the flow of the conversation, the way each feels understood, accepted and supported, and by how I feel, happy, bored or energized in the relationship. It also helps to know whether all benefit from each other’s positive aspects.

Handling stress in life is all about cultivating mutually supportive relationships and working on them. Manisha always says she feels great when sharing her feelings after a hard day with people who share similar ideas. Actually we all need someone who would not just hear us, but listen to us, and we need to cultivate the art of listening and understanding people.