#111: Lydia Denworth - How to Build Stronger Friendships?

Friendships, like all relationships, take time and effort. But it does more for your life than most of the health hacks you can think of. To shine more light on the subject, I have Lydia Denworth on the show. 

Lydia Denworth is a science journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. She is a contributing editor at Scientific American, and the author of the book ‘Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond’. She has visited brain imaging labs and baboon troops in Kenya to understand friendship from a scientific perspective.

In this episode we discuss:

👉 How to understand friendship

👉 The difference between a good friend and a great friend

👉 How Vulnerability build friendship

👉 How intense experiences improve bonding

👉 How to make new friends

👉 Concrete steps to developing long lasting relationships

👉 And so much more…

If you're in a new city trying to build new friendships or want to increase the quality of your friendships, then don’t miss this episode.

Keynotes:

1:24 Lydia’s journey into friendship

2:52 How to understand friendship

8:05 The difference between a good friend and a great friend

10:46 Walking away from unhealthy relationships

12:35 Lydia’s take on the saying you are the avg of the 5 most people you hang out with

16:10 Is friendship transactional?

18:10 How to be a good friend?

25:20 Having shared interests builds good friendships

29:30 Vulnerability in friendship

33:29 Why intense experiences improve bonding

35:19 How to make friends from scratch

38:45 How many friends can you have?

42:15 How to mend friendships

46:45 What has Lydia changed in herself after writing her book

52:10 Some concrete advice to developing relationships

55:48 Where you can find Lydia Denworth

56:15 Lydia’s advice for a happy, health and meaningful life

Connect with Lydia Denworth

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydiadenworth/?hl=en 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScienceWriterLydia 

Resources

Lydia’s Website: https://lydiadenworth.com/