27 Deep Friendship Quotes and Why Who We Surround Ourselves With—Matters

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Excerpt: 27 Friendship quotes that will inspire you to not only cherish your friends, but maybe become a better friend, too.

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Introduction: The Role of Good Friendship

“What could someone figure out about you by the friends you’ve chosen? …Do your close friends tend to be older or younger than you? Less or more talented and successful than you? Do they share your values? Ambitions? Interests?”

Gregory Stock, The Book of Questions

You could probably learn a lot about someone by the friends they’ve chosen. In fact, I’m a firm believer in the idea that you are a product of who you surround yourself with the most. How could you not be? 

Your close friends are the ones who have the greatest influence over you.  They’re the ones who you spend the most time with, who you challenge to games and do activities with, who you poke around with intellectually, who you have deep conversations with (or at least conversations beyond the superficial), and who you measure (and ultimately align) values, ambitions, and interests with. 

While this certainly isn’t always the case, I feel like it is more often than it’s not and can definitely provide noteworthy insights that will help you better understand your current situation.

We Are Who We Surround Ourselves With

If you feel like you are stuck, plateaued, or in a rut, sometimes it’s because you need to change your perspective and get a different look at the problems you’re facing. The fact that the problems you’re facing are unsolved means that the answer is outside your current parameters of thought—you have to expand your thinking to find the solution. If the people in your circle are less experienced, less talented, less intellectual, less disciplined, and/ or less thoughtful then it is unlikely that you will resolve the problem(s) you’re facing. 

If the people in your circle are more experienced, more talented, more intellectual, more disciplined, and/ or more thoughtful then it’s much more likely that they will help stretch your parameters of thought to include a solution to your problem. But what’s most likely the case is that the people in your immediate circle will be very similarly experienced, talented, intellectual, disciplined, and/or thoughtful. Birds of a feather flock together—in humans, too.

So if we want to expand our thinking and learn how to better solve interesting problems in life like how to learn new skills, how to live more presently, how to better maintain positive relationships, how to build more successful businesses, how to become more financially independent, how to have meaningful conversations, etc., then we need to surround ourselves with the birds of that interesting feather whose thinking has been expanded to that level. 

Does this mean that we need to ditch our friends and look for some type of feather upgrades? Not necessarily. I would only ever recommend this if you were completely miserable with your life and the “friends” in your immediate circle were toxic and negative for your situation and path. 

If you love your friends, however, and enjoy spending time with them, but maybe still want to try and improve your life you could, of course, look for a mentorship or apprenticeship or even just try connecting closer with an acquaintance who has done interesting stuff in their life—this can be a great way to dig into someone’s brain who might be able to stretch your current parameters of thought.  But there might be an even better way still.

Friendship In a Digital Age

Remember that in today’s world, who we surround ourselves with isn’t only limited to our physical environments—we have to include who we surround ourselves with digitally and imaginatively. If you spend time every single day interacting with Kim Kardashian’s social media, then that will start to have an impact on you and your thought processes. The same is true if you spend all of your downtime listening to Gary Vee. 

In the digital world, we can surround ourselves with just about anybody we want. But if we really want to connect to their way of thinking, then short clips from social media timelines aren’t going to be as powerful as the long form productions that go deep like books and podcasts. This is where you can dive deep into the way a person thinks and surround yourself with them imaginatively and in a rapid and extremely low cost way. 

Booking a private session with Tony Robbins, for example, costs around six figures per hour. Buying one of his books contains WAY more insight than you would ever get in one hour and probably costs less than the Uber would cost you from the airport to Tony’s house. The point is, you are a product of who you surround yourself with the most—yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to ditch your crew. 

Surround yourself with the most interesting and thought provoking people you can find both digitally and in print and you’ll be astounded at how much they’ll stretch your mental parameters. The power in this sentiment can’t be understated. It’s a privilege that’s grossly underrated and underutilized and could wildly expand the parameters for all of our ways of thinking. So, what’d you say? Who are you gonna hang out with tonight?

Below, you will find our top 27 friendship quotes that will inspire you to not only cherish your friends, but maybe be a better friend, too. As Thich Nhat Hanh explains, “Even if we have a lot of money in the bank, we can die very easily from our suffering. So, investing in a friend, making a friend into a real friend, building a community of friends, is a much better source of security. We will have someone to lean on, to come to, during our difficult moments.” So go ahead and invest!

…I suspect it may be one of the best investments you ever make in your life.

And without further ado, I turn it over to the wonderful thinkers in the list below. I hope these friendship quotes find you well. I hope you pay close attention to who you’re spending most of your time with. And I hope you’re able to surround yourself with only the most true, honest, and inspiring individuals you could ever ask for.

And if you haven’t found them yet, start by being that person for somebody else. I imagine it won’t be long after that. Good luck!

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The List: 27 Deep and True Friendship Quotes For You to Cherish

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“…Nothing delights the mind so much as fond and loyal friendship. What a blessing it is to have hearts that are ready and willing to receive all your secrets in safety, with whom you are less afraid to share knowledge of something than keep it to yourself, whose conversation soothes your distress, whose advice helps you make up your mind, whose cheerfulness dissolves your sorrow, whose very appearance cheers you up!”

Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

“Imagine this: You’re single. Forever. The end. Now imagine this: You have no friends. Forever. The end. Many of us misinterpret our need for strong friendships as a need for a romantic relationship. This is an unhealthy way to go about life. Being single forever may suck to think about, but it’s not exactly the end of the world. You could still have a pretty bitchin’ life anyway. Plenty of people do. Plenty of people choose to remain single for the majority of their lives and don’t feel as though they’re missing out on much. We’ve all been single before. And many of us in committed relationships will someday be single again. But friendless for the rest of your life? Well, let’s just say that these are the things that suicides are made of. You can be happy without a partner. You cannot be happy without friends. Prioritize your friendships.”

Mark Manson | Read our list of quotes from The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck ➜

“The dream forced me to realize that the most important thing in life to me is friendship and feeling-exchange with other people. I don’t need to have many acquaintances, but I require good friendships that involve a deep level of communication, whether it be an exchange of ideas or the simple joy of being together.”

Robert A. Johnson, Inner Work (Page 133) | Read our list of quotes from Inner Work ➜

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“True friends are those who care without hesitation, remember without limitation, forgive without any explanation and love with even little communication.”

Anonymous

“Friendship was witnessing another’s slow drip of miseries, and long bouts of boredom, and occasional triumphs. It was feeling honored by the privilege of getting to be present for another person’s most dismal moments, and knowing that you could be dismal around him in return.”

Hanya Yanagihara

“Never ask, ‘Who is my real friend?’ Ask, ‘Am I a real friend to somebody?’ That is the right question. Always be concerned with yourself.”

Osho | Read our complete collection of Osho Quotes ➜

“I really, really think the secret to being loved is to love. And the secret to being interesting is to be interested. And the secret to having a friend is being a friend.”

Unknown

“I like making friends, I thought. I began trying to listen to and observe what was going on in my head, and a painful realization washed across me: I wasn’t enjoying being with myself. In fact, I wanted to get away from myself as fast as I could. And it dawned on me, If I don’t want to be with me, why the fuck would anybody else wanna be with me?”

Will Smith, Will (Page 375) | Read our list of quotes from Will ➜

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.”

Elizabeth Foley | See Picture Quote Version ➜

“Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it’ll always get you the right ones.”

John Lennon | See Picture Quote Version ➜

“Healing taught me that honesty won’t ruin a real thing. Speaking on your feelings won’t lose you anything worth having. Setting boundaries won’t scare off proper people. And authenticity won’t cost you genuine relationships. Remember that the next time you feel like shit because someone pulled away from you for respecting yourself, sharing your feelings, setting a boundary, and/or holding them accountable.”

Light of Emotion (Twitter)

“True friends are the ones you feel unbounded with, you can be your complete self around them. You’ll know because you won’t feel judged, manipulated, and it feels genuine. It’s almost effortless when you stay connected without even trying hard, no matter where you may be. It’s true what they say, friends will always come and go. The real ones will stay. And the real ones are the people you grow with, the ones who help keep you grounded, who will help you reach your potential, and the ones who aren’t afraid to show you your own imperfections to help you become better, and vice versa. Those are the real ones.”

Satori, Blog

“Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in which there is much agreement, much disputation, and yet more personal liking.”

George Eliot

“If you’re alone, I’ll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I’ll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I’ll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I’ll be your smile… But anytime you need a friend, I’ll just be me.”

Unknown

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

William Shakespeare

“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.”

Unknown | See Picture Quote Version ➜

“Friends are better than money. Almost anything money can do, friends can do better. In so many ways a friend with a boat is better than owning a boat.”

Kevin Kelly, Blog

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

Henri Nouwen

“If you want close, supportive relationships with friends and family members when you’re eighty-five, trace a series of moves leading up to that, all the way back to the present time.  Pleasant, right?  That’s the universe telling you to spend more time with people you care about.  If you want a life of purpose, don’t you think you’d better start finding your purpose now?  You may not get there by working more hours, coming home late, putting off time with your friends and family.  Maybe you want a different job, a long talk with your son, a move to a different part of the country.  Maybe the answer is ending a marriage in which you’re no longer helping each other grow.  I never said this was going to be easy.”

John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Pages 16-17) | Read our list of quotes from Happiness is a Choice You Make ➜

“…What I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That’s all any of us can do. That’s what we’re here for.”

Shauna Niequist | See Picture Quote Version ➜

“One person might enter your life as a welcome change. Like a new season, they are an exciting and enthralling shift of energy. But the season ends at some point, as all seasons do. Another person might come in with a reason. They help you learn and grow, or they support you through a difficult time. It almost feels like they’ve been deliberately sent to you to assist or guide you through a particular experience, after which their central role in your life decreases. And then there are lifetime people. They stand by your side through the best and worst of times, loving you even when you are giving nothing to them.”

Jay Shetty, Think Like A Monk (Page 230)

“Life is kind of like a party. You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up really late. But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess. And most of the time, they aren’t even the ones who made the mess. These people are your true friends in life. They are the only ones who matter.”

Unknown

“When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.”

Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (Page 56)

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Share this with someone who has been that friend for you and use this as an opportunity to show them how thankful you are to have them in your life!  It’s a gesture that is often forgotten and/or overlooked but one that won’t soon be forgotten!

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Friendship Picture Quotes To Share:

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