“I keep hearing you can't make friends as an adult, and I push back on that because I have. Every time that comes up, I think about who I have in my life, how I met them, and how we expanded things.”

–Sara Barry

You can’t make friends as an adult … or can you? Friendship comes up every season as a goal for people in FLOW365. The issue amped up during the pandemic, but continues to be a challenge. I’m excited to talk with Sara Barry about making and maintaining friendships.

Let’s be real. It IS hard to make friends or even keep up with the friends we have at this stage of life. It takes time and intention.

We look at questions like: How do we make friends when we move to the suburbs or country? How do we maintain friendships when we are busy with business and kids? How do you move beyond seeing somebody at yoga class or meeting them in a mastermind to connecting beyond that?

We talk about:

• Shifts in friendship over time and as your life changes
• Intentionally making time for friendship and ways to connect
• Being the one who always initiates and not taking no personally
• Getting clear on what you want from friendship — do you need a 2 am friend, a friend you talk to daily, somebody to talk about work with, somebody to go places with … 
• Creating ways of connecting that sustain themselves — accountability check ins, weekly walk, annual traditions
• Reaching out to friends you’ve been out of touch with

ABOUT SARA

Sara Barry is a content advisor and copywriter for coaches and other heart-centered entrepreneurs. As a content advisor, she helps clients decide which content to create, say what they really want to say, and make the most of the content they create. As a copywriter, she helps people build connection through content, streamline processes, and turn short content into books. Clients call listening her superpower and regularly end calls saying they feel so much  calmer with clarity and a plan to get their content done.

LINKS

• Sarabarry.com
• https://substack.com/@sarabarrywrites
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabarry/

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.

Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• ASSESS YOUR FRIENDSHIPS. Make a list of friends you have. How did you meet them? How do they fit into your life right now? What are you missing in your friendships? Do you need 2am friends? Do you miss having people you talk to or hang out with every day? Use this assessment to think about what you really want from friendships and what you already know about making friends.
• PLAN TO CONNECT. Make a list of people you want to connect with in the next month. Include people you see regularly and people you haven’t talked to in a while. Schedule time to reach out — write a letter, send a text, schedule a call, walk, coffee date, or other outing. Make time in your schedule to actually do the thing with your friend.
• EXTEND A NEW FRIENDSHIP. Sometimes we meet people in one context and don’t know how to go beyond that. Practice taking the next step. Ask that person in your mastermind to be an accountability partner. Suggest coffee or a walk with the person in your yoga class. DM the person in a group that always says things that resonate.