Know who are your toxic friends and your growth friends.

Toxic Friends

Everyone of us has this kind of friend and we need to lessen our time or if possible, stop hanging out with a toxic friend because he is:

     ☹ An opportunist. He just knows you whenever he needs something. Yes, he hangs out with you, he's always beside you, you eat lunch together but whenever you need something from him, he has nothing. He always declines even your petty requests. A toxic friend is the baby in your friendship. Your role is just to protect and comfort him.

     ☹ Energy-drainer. Instead of pushing you through your limits, he is the very first person who will discourage you. You might misinterpret this as his way of showing his care for you or hie's just being realistic but he just teaches you how to be afraid and to be a risk-averse. He inculcates mediocrity. You will never grow with this kind of friend.

     ☹ Self-centered. He always talks about himself and he subconsciously thinks "our friendship is about me." He brags of everything and he seldom asks how are you feeling. A toxic friend never gives you the opportunity to talk something about yourself and to express your opinion about something. He shows no concern in your friendship.

     ☹ Pessimistic. Every time you meet, your topic revolves to something negative. You spend times talking about bad news. Essentially, he is also an energy drainer. Whenever you tell him someone is not so nice to you, he'll provoke you even more instead of calming you. You can't part ways without making yourselves bad, negative and full of hatred.

     ☹ Pocket-drainer. Even in those impractical times, he'll ask you to spend your money to nonsense and unnecessary stuff. The two of you would go to expensive (relatively to how much you earn) restaurants, travel so often even though traveling is not your priority, and shop like until it's the end of the world. You feel rich but deep inside you're financially distressed. With him, your bank account has zero balance. But don't worry, he's there to join you waiting until the payday.

These are your friends whom you need to treasure and spend most of time with. Basically, they are the exact opposite of your toxic friends. A growth friend has the following characteristics:

     ☺ Altruist. He is concerned to your needs and he is always there whenever you need something. He may never have every thing you need but he'll do his best to be of help. He helps and supports you in every decision you make and he wants you to succeed in your endeavors in life.

     ☺ Source of Strength. He is your number one fan. Whenever you are in doubt of yourself, he's one of those persons who will make you feel you can do it. A growth friend is a motivator and he is your switch to ignite a burning desire to achieve or to do something.

     ☺ Compassionate. Sympathetic. concerned, selfless and caring. He often asks you how everything went today. He has an attitude of gratitude and he even treasures your friendship more than you do!

     ☺ Optimistic. You share the same goals and vision in life. You spend your times in dreaming of achieving them together. You think everything is possible with hard work and persistence. You choose to evade negative news and you just laugh at someone who say something not so nice about you. He calms you every time you're losing your temper. A growth friend will manage you before your temper does. With him, you have a heart clear of anger and hatred, and is full of pleasant emotions.

     ☺ Smart spender. He considers the fact that you need to enjoy life but he'll never compromise your finances to this. He'll never let you feel good today and suffer tomorrow financially. With a growth friend, you experience not just the growth in yourself but also the growth in your pocket.