Quote:
Originally Posted by Eikman
believe it or not, i encountered the same thing not once, but several times this year, which eventually lead me to think about the definition of friendship in the first place. i think i sometimes value friendship too much, i.e. i bring more into it than the other party, and everytime this devotion is not returned, i feel betrayed. i'm still not sure whether this is a misconception on my end or whether (some) my friends are indeed pricks at heart...
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Not all friendships are created equal. Different friendships can serve different purposes and will have different "value" to you (and the other party).
You might have a bunch of friends who you go out with regularly but who you wouldn't think of discussing personal problems with, and you might have other friends who you don't see so often but who you know are always there for you. Maybe (hopefully) you'll have one "best friend" whose friendship you value very highly, but that doesn't mean that other kinds of friendships that maybe don't give you so much, have no value in themselves. It's not a bad idea to re-evaluate your friendships from time to time. Maybe in some cases you feel like you're putting in more than you're getting back, in which case you might either decide to transfer some of the time and energy you're expending on that relationship on someone/something else, or you might ask the person in question what their view of the friendship is and if they would be willing to invest more of their time and energy to restore the balance.