Shifting Away from Friends to Make Time for Community

Community is where we live. It’s where we shop, go to school, work, and raise our families. Wanting to spend more time involved with your community is not only good for you but for everyone around you. Right now, you want to spend more time giving back to and participating in your community than spending time with friends.

Here are some tools and tips for you to make that shift!

Authentic Communication

First, it’s time to tell people what you’re doing! Communicate your shift to everyone you trust that will be affected, your family, friends, team, boss, etc. Work with them to put an actionable plan together that can help you achieve your goals. Not only will this let people know what you are trying to accomplish, but they can help hold you accountable when you waver.

Toxic Friendships

Unfortunately, not all friends are created equal. In fact, some of the people we call our friends may be doing us more harm than good. Toxic friendships can affect your mental health and build unhealthy dependencies. Friends are the support network that you cultivate around yourself. So, as you make your shift and spend less time with your friends, make sure that you focus your time on the friends who support you without expecting anything in return. Any friend that resents or rebuffs you for your choice, is not worth your time.

Setting Boundaries

When working towards your new goal, make sure you know and set boundaries to avoid being pulled back into old habits. Perhaps, before you decided to make a shift, you would grab dinner or hang out with your friends every weekend. Now, you have new priorities and your time will shift accordingly. Perhaps from now on you will only hang out with them once a month and spend that time being involved in your community. Whatever your line is, don’t cross it or allow it to be crossed. Set the boundaries that make sense for you and stick to them!

More Tools To Prioritize Your Community

1. Interview with author, keynote speaker, and coach, Chester Elton

2. Interview with VP of Strategy, The Condo Store Marketing Systems, Serena Quaglia

3. Interview with CEO and Founder of Evolving Humankind, Anita Scott

4. Interview with Founder of Music Together of San Francisco, Paul Godwin

5. Giving Back to Your Community

If you haven't already, be sure to take our quiz to understand your values and realize the Quality of Life you desire.