Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes
Alex Alexander
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Cousin, Sister, Best Friend: The Stories Built Into Our Labels
• 31 minJust because someone is your sibling, cousin, or best friend, does that mean your relationship has to look a certain way? For episode 200 (I still can't quite believe I'm saying that!), I'm digging into the titles we give the people in our lives. Every one of those titles comes with expectations. We assume siblings are close, best friends show up for everything, and relationships with in-laws are complicated. But none of those assumptions tell us much about the actual relationship. Using my roots of friendship framework, I walk through how these titles become inherited story roots — beliefs and expectations we've picked up from family, culture, and media without necessarily choosing them ourselves. And when our actual relationships don't match those expectations? Sometimes we judge ourselves, question the relationship, and end up doing all the work, trying to make a relationship fit a title it was never going to live up to. I'm not suggesting you lower your expectations or stop wanting close relationships with the people in your life. But maybe it's worth asking whether there's a smaller, truer story that better reflects the relationship you actually have. In this episode you’ll hear about: The coffee shop test for surfacing the expectations you didn't know you had about cousins, best friends, and in-lawsWhy the best friend title can leave you feeling like you're the one falling shortThe risk (and occasional magic) of deciding someone is your best friend after two hangoutsWhat your reaction to someone else’s distant sibling relationship reveals about your own expectationsResources & Links Episode 12: Digging Into the 3 Types of Friendship Roots Episode 50: Confession: I’ve Never Had a Best Friend WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? is here. Order your copy today! Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.
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