Never Forgive a Friend THIS! (10 Crazy Things)

Danger recognized, danger averted. New acquaintances can be refreshing and very gratifying for our social life. Making new contacts doesn't come easily to everyone. On the other hand, those who find it easy to make new friends sometimes face a different problem. Not all people come into our lives to enrich them. Some are in it exclusively for themselves, and any means of achieving their goal will do. Whether you have money, good connections, or unique skills, the likelihood that someone just wants to profit from your friendship is unfortunately quite high. We'll show you ten early signs you can spot fake friends in this article.

1. They don't keep their promises.

A clear signal to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to friends is the non-commitment and word-breaking that some people celebrate like a lifestyle or some kind of unholy religion. Think of the acquaintance who says “Let’s do lunch!” or “I’ll call you!” and never calls. Not having to commit oneself seems to be a new trend that heralds a veritable age of non-commitment. If you can't count on your supposed friends, you probably don't have any real ones to speak of.

2. Your success is belittled and talked down.

Real friends share everything, joy, sorrow, success and failure. Anyone who can't genuinely rejoice with you when things are going well and you're on track for success doesn't mean well by you. Friendships show their true face not only in a crisis. Even particularly good times have to be overcome together, as strange as that may sound. In this context, friendship and love have one thing in common: They are not jealous and always want only the best for you. Envy, resentment and jealousy are not quality characteristics for lasting interpersonal relationships.

3. In the presence of others, they suddenly behave differently.

False friends are usually also people who have rehearsed and prepared a different role for each audience. They behave in a decidedly accommodating and submissive manner toward people from whom they hope to benefit. The bartender or waitress, on the other hand, experience a completely different demeanor. Caution is also required with people who change sides of the street when old acquaintances recognize them or who want to disappear into oblivion when ghosts from the past suddenly become very real at the next table. Even on the phone, they change their tone of voice and choice of words depending on who is talking to them on the other end of the line.

4. They speak badly about their fellow human beings.

We can tell the character of people by their actions, but also by their words. Those who start complaining to you about their friends, acquaintances or colleagues and don't leave a good mark on their environment will sooner or later do the same to other people about you. Badmouthing your fellow man is a highly questionable trait that should set all your alarm bells ringing. By the way, this behavior should also make you think twice about a new love. Anyone who doesn't have a good word for his or her ex is probably not half as innocent of the breakup as she or he would have you believe.

5. You're constantly being asked for favors.

A true friendship, like any relationship, is based on give and take. When that balance gets out of whack, one part of that arrangement is just the payer. So if you're being asked for money, help, intervention, or a favor conspicuously often, be on guard. Someone is using you as a very personal service provider, but doesn't see a real friend in you. We usually feel it immediately when someone crosses the line of what is permissible here. If you tolerate these transgressions, sooner or later it will go beyond these comparatively harmless border crossings.

6. They occasionally shut you out.

If there are cool parties, luxurious weekend getaways, and dignified events going on behind your back to which you were not invited, then you are not important or good enough for the hosts. Friendship is always all-encompassing, it should cover every area of life and not be a selective process that serves a specific purpose.

7. They want you to be a certain way.

If people want to change you all the time, you should honestly reconsider your contact with them. No one has the right to criticize us or make us feel like we're not good enough. True friends accept each other for who they are. After all, quirks, tics and special habits are what make people unique and set them apart from the masses.

8. Every conversation with them ends up as a monologue.

Fake friends don't need a real network. They are mainly looking for an audience. They need the constant applause and attentive listening to be sure of themselves. If you are completely drained and exhausted after a conversation with such people, it is certainly not because your opinion and your explanations were in the foreground. If you're only looking for extras in front of whom you can repeatedly bring up your own drama in epic breadth, you should switch to the theater. But even there, self-absorbed divas and egocentric protagonists with airs and graces have long since had their day.

9. They often cancel dates at the last minute.

The moment a better alternative presents itself, fake friends cancel. So if you're often stood up at the last moment and put off indefinitely, it's because you've been traded for a more promising offer. For people like that, we're only good for the substitutes' bench, and we'll probably never make the move to the premier league anyway because we lack glamour or the necessary social connections.

10. Trouble is never far away with them.

A particularly unpleasant side effect of fake friends is the fact that they constantly get us into trouble. Even if we were previously a clean slate: With them, we suddenly find ourselves in the most impossible, tricky and not always entirely legal situations. Fake friends stir up trouble wherever they can. Soon we have our friends from the past, our family and our entire neighborhood against us, because there is always a secret provocateur at work who wants to plunge us into the abyss.

Today’s Conclusion:

Friendship can be faked, too. Listen to your gut when making new acquaintances. Caution is never wrong in the interpersonal sphere anyway. Even if you eventually get a reputation for being distant and difficult to approach. Your peace of mind should be worth a bit of bad PR. Once false friends have entered our lives, they are hard to get rid of. Some love to unravel the tranquil lives of those around them and cause the most damage possible. Still others leave only when they have achieved their goal. These so-called social climbers then use us to move further up the social ladder. We should let them go and be glad they stay at the level of near-missed catastrophe.