May 6, 20202 min read

How to Identify a Healthy Relationship

Updated: Oct 20, 2020

To attract good friends and partners, you must have the courage to be yourself. Start by investing in the right tools to help you identify your personal needs and boundaries. Knowing your values and priorities shows you what to look for in a relationship.

Teenage boy in leather jacket with relationship quote

Once you've made a connection, it's important to reflect on the quality of the relationship. This helps you decide how much time you want to invest. Consider these qualities.

A Real Friend...

lifts you up and makes you feel good about yourself.
gives and takes equally (balanced relationship).
encourages you to hang out with other people, even if they aren't part of the same group.
never makes you choose between doing something you don't want to do and being their friend or partner.
knows when it's in your best interest to push you outside your comfort zone.
will always have your back.

A fake friend...

makes you feel inadequate and bad about yourself.
is always wanting something but not willing to help you in return.
thinks you should change how you look and what kind of clothes you wear.
tells you who can and can't be friends with (controlling).
says things like, "If you were my friend you would...." or, "I can't be your friend anymore if you......"

Need more help measuring the quality of your relationships? Download our "Friendship Scale."

If someone has disappointed or embarrassed you in the past, don't let that get you down for too long. We've all experienced being hurt by a "Fake Friend." Get back out there because you need supportive relationships in your life, and others need you in theirs.