What makes a good friendship? We’ve all had different experiences under the banner of ‘friendship.’ There are great friends, and then there are friends who seem to be friends, who turn out to have other agendas. But what is the essence of being a good friend? Aristotle defined it as: working for the good of the other person. That is: wanting the best for the other person, helping to bring out their best side when you interact with them (over dinner, drinks, brunches, travel), and over the long run, even helping them to grow into their best self. True friendship occurs when this attitude goes both ways.
Having that ideal of good friendship in mind can help us to see the relationships that aren’t really about this, or that are too lopsided—and also to remember how much we love and appreciate true good friends; how rare and beautiful a thing it is to find.
Image: Thommesen, Harald, 1986, Rana Leaf
Jack Fuller
Jack is a depth therapist and the founder of Archive. He has a doctorate in theology from Oxford University and a degree in neuroscience from Melbourne University. He is the co-author of The Imagination Machine (Harvard Business Press, 2022)