Let’s face it – making new friends has becoming more and more difficult for most of us. Throw a demanding career and household duties into the mix and you will understand why according to the statistics the average person has 0,7 friends. We simply do not leave ourselves enough time to connect with people and cultivate true friendship.

However, no matter how happy our family life or how gratifying our job is, deep down we still feel the need to belong, to confide in others, to get and give the support. This is what true friends are for! And no amount of work or hours spend in the bosom of the family can substitute what real, life-long friendship has to offer.

So whether you have moved to a new city or feel that your social life starts to wither as you slowly grow apart with your old friends, here are 20 resourceful Ideas on How to Make new Friends easily:

1. Get to know your neighbors

It is amazing how many people live for years right next to each other without actually knowing each other’s name. If this sounds like your apartment building, be the first one to break the ice.

2. Get sport-active

Thinking about getting in shape or starting to jog in the morning? Great! Why not joining a sports team or finding someone to jog with? If you have no idea where to look for sport events in your city, start with the events on CraigsList.com or browse the many clubs on MeetUp.com.

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Who of us has not wanted to learn a foreign language? I bet there is still a grammar book or a language course hidden somewhere on your book shelf that reminds you of the day when you decided to learn French or Italian or even Japanese. Well, this long-forgotten dream of yours can finally turn into reality, because let’s face it – while you can get away with speaking just your mother tongue while traveling, knowing a foreign language opens a myriad of opportunities:

• It can speed up your professional growth and gives you the possibility of finding a better job
• It helps you to understand another culture much better and to read books written by famous authors “in their original language”
• It makes it much easier to make friends in different countries and much more fun to travel around the world.
• It trains your memory and helps to keep your mind sharp

Besides, there is something almost magical about gazing at the stars and humming a French song to your beloved , ordering a cup of delicious espresso in Piazza San Marco in perfect Italian, laughing at a joke in Spanish without having to ask your friends what it means or greeting your international business partners in Russian or Chinese.

You might believe that learning a foreign language is difficult, boring or frustrating, that you do not have a talent for languages that the last time you tried to learn French or Spanish you hardly made any progress. All these doubts are normal, but they are groundless. While everyone’s learning style and language acquisition speed can be different, scientists are convinced that just about anyone can master a new language and your age or talents have nothing to do with it.

And the best part is that the more languages you know, the easier it is to learn the new ones!

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Have you ever had a small disagreement with a friend that turned into a disaster? Have you ever tried to share your thoughts with your spouse and felt that you were not being heard? And how about saying something that you regretted as soon as the words left your mouth?

I have found myself in such situations more than enough times to learn the hard way that words are not to be taken lightly.

In fact, I believe that it is a skill to be able to say the right thing at the right time. But it is a talent to leave wrong things unsaid.

Here are 10 Things that are better left unsaid, especially when talking to the people that you like, respect or have to get along with.

1. “I told you so”

This is a very tempting remark that we often can not stop ourselves from saying (especially when we did warn the person about the consequences.) But before you open your mouth, count up to ten and think about why you want to say it? Do you want to bring the other person even lower, by pointing out what an idiot they were for not listening to you? It is kind of insensitive, don’t you think?
When we share our troubles with people, we do not want our mistakes rubbed in our face. We are looking for compassion and support. Keep this in mind the next time you feel like saying “I told you so”, and say “I think you are right.”

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