Do This 1 Thing to Make Your Friendships Good for Society at Large

When looking at the world’s problems, it can be hard to understand how your sole actions can bring about the large changes this world desperately needs to end things such as hunger, slavery, and racism. Instead of encouraging you yourself to do good things, I’m going to encourage you to shift your focus to one of your best friends.

Your closest friends are those people who you can let down your guard with. They are people you can share your true self with, be goofy around, discuss deeper subjects with, and have little to no filter with. It is absolutely phenomenal to have friends like these. I bet in your mind you can’t imagine how these friendships could get even better. They are already so wonderful!

There’s at least one way to make any relationship more meaningful, I would argue. I suggest that this one thing you can do with your best friend is not only good for you two, but it is also good for society at large.

Being someone who is deeply passionate about seeing positive change in the world through civil society, I suggest that this one thing you should do with your best friend is read a book together.

That’s right. Read a book. How can that bring about such good change for you two and the world? Think bout it. Start small. Choose to read a book with just one of your best friends. You two can pick the topic together. Make a trip out of it. Go to a local book store and search out books that are non-fiction that confront a greater problem in society that needs help.

Once you choose a book to read, determine what reading schedule will work best for you two. Then, take the time to read through each page and chapter and, then, discuss the book together.

This is how reading a book together can change society at large.

The basis of any passion is education. As you learn about various topics as you age, you learn about things you want to do in conjunction with those topics. Did your parents/guardians teach you have to cook when you were younger? You may have wanted to grow up cooking an assortment of different dishes. Did you grow up around a community activist? You may have seen people you felt deep empathy for when hanging out with them, and, because you took the time to hear their cries, you became passionate about helping people with similar issues.

In that same line of thought, reading a book together with one of your best friends can inspire you two to action to help the world around you.

Come up with at least one notable thing you two can do, preferably together, to make an impact on that problem you read about, learned, and discussed with your friend. For example, if you read a book about homelessness, make it a point to do something meaningful for homeless people, whether that is volunteering one time or on a consistent basis together.

Regardless of what the books you read together call you to do, reading books together can add another level of depth to your friendship, providing instant gratification for you that is now associated with doing good in the world. This will keep you coming back for more and more every single time.

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