Does Having More Friends Lead to More Happiness?

Before getting into today's article, did you know that only 31% of you have said that you set goals for the year? 

“85% of your Happiness is determined by the people in your life” – Brian Tracy

 What Are Friends For?

Thousands of years ago, if you were to hunt alone, you couldn’t hunt enough food for your family. And by being alone, you would be an easy pray to any big bear or tiger. That’s partly why we always lived in tribes, we ate together, hunted together, and protected each other.

Right then, it was clear that you absolutely NEEDED friends (and tribe members) to survive.

How about now?

Our society changed. When you open the door of your house, there are no tigers or bears. (Are there?) And you don’t need to gather your group of friends to go hunting. In fact, you can work from home and won’t have to meet anyone, at all.

So it’s not so obvious anymore, is it? So, what are friends for now?

In this world, we’re no longer concerned with food and protection. These things are mostly guaranteed. We’re now concerned about achievement, success, and connection.

If you have the right friends, these things become much, much easier to have.

Can MORE Friends Make You Happy?

People often ask does having more friends lead to more happiness?

Some people will argue that friends are a big source of problems, others will tell you that their childhood friends bullied them and now they can’t trust anyone.

That can be true, but if you know what to say “NO” to, then you can have all the friends you want and be HAPPY with that.

Friends give you access to important people like recruiters, business partners or potential clients. Most of the time, a single phone call can make all the difference. 

Friends also give you feedback on what you’re doing, they give you many opinions on whether you’re getting closer to or further from the success you want.

Some friends will even become your mentors in areas of your life where you need to upgrade your skills. Some are willing to share with you keys to success that took them many years to learn.

If you want to have more impact in life, then having more friends will help. Powerful people in this world have always been those with the right friends on their side. It’s very hard to beat a well connected person in competitions like politics or business.

Let’s say you want to contribute to a charity or to a cause. You can only have a limited impact by yourslef. Your efforts can even go, sometimes, unnoticed. But instead, if you have many friends and connections, you can potentially give that cause a huge boost and get recognized for it.

Happiness can also mean that you feel understood, trusted, tolerated, and loved. In that case, you would really need to look for the best friends you can find. They’re not easy to find at the first shot, but they’re worth looking for. Having close-trusted friends can add a lot of meaning to your life.

Great Friends of Mine.....

And the more people you meet, the higher your chances of meeting great friends that you can trust.

Also, friends just make your life more FUN. Imagine what your birthdays, holidays, trips, and summer vacations would be like if you get to connect with a new group of friends with people that KNOW how to have fun… 

I mean, nobody wants to spend those moments alone.

How Can You Know If You Have Enough Friends

The reality is, even if you have some friends right now, you still need more. We all need more. here is why…

In this age, moving from city to city has never been easier. People also get inside and outside of relationships and mariages more often. People change jobs and change their life habits to follow their careers, more often.

People also get more and more addicted to technology and start to hang out alone.

According to an american study, one out of four people have absolutely NO close friends. Another study, that was done in Australia, revealed a direct link between how many social networks a young person is subscribed to and their level of unhappiness.

The more social network accounts they had, the less happy they were!

This means that people will continue to drift off of your life, and that you need to connect with more and more people every day. 

Because you are losing more and more people, as time goes by.

All those factors mean one thing: 

If you’re NOT constantly making new friends,… you’re actually making LESS!

We all need more and more friends!

Sincerely,

Emerson Villela Carvalho Jr., M.D.