Last night on my drive back from Indianapolis I got to thinking about my friend Craig. I met this man a little over a year and a half ago and we have since become good friends. He has a very slow and deliberate cadence to his speech. When you listen to him talk it is obvious that he is thinking very carefully about each word that comes out of his mouth. Consequently, I respond to him with a similar attention to my words and thoughts. Craig encourages me to be more thoughtful with my speech.
I could name different people in my life right now that bring out my serious side, silly side, emotional side, etc. There are some great men and women in my life that bring out my spiritual side and encourage me to be more cognizant of Godly things. What is it about our relationships that cause different parts of our personality or character to swell?
I’m not talking about being a flimsy person. I’m talking about being a person who is involved with people and part of a community. As part of the way we are constructed we naturally bring out different traits in each other.
I began to ask myself some questions. I thought I would share these questions with you today.
- What traits do I commonly encourage in the people around me?
- Do I make it easier/harder for others to succeed when I am involved?
- When people spend time with me, do they generally leave feeling better or worse?
- How often do I consider ahead of time how I might affect someone I’m with?
- Am I a selfish friend?
- How often do I sincerely ask about the wellbeing others?
- Does my behavior encourage positive or negative behavior?
- When I am a part of a conversation, how often does it become positive or negative?
- Should people be concerned that I will talk about them negatively in their absence?
- Is the amount of thought I put into my speech generally sufficient?
These are healthy questions to ask! There are surely more and you may discover those as you make this kind of careful attention a regular practice. So, what type of friend are you?
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