People can often feel alienated and left out when it comes to forming good friendship bonds, and these issues can sometimes be never more present than for those who are living their life with a form of physical disability.
So how can you make sure that you enable yourself to make more friends and increase your friendship circle? Well here are three tips to get you started and give you some recommendations on how to reach out and get to know more people, as well as making yourself appear more approachable in the process.
Join a disability sports team
Not only will joining a sports team help to improve areas of your life such as health and wellbeing, due to the physical nature of any given sporting activities – but it will also help you to reach a wider range of individuals and open you up to making friends with other like minded individuals.
The same can be said for any form of social group, from a chess club, to a debating club, to just about anything! I just thought it was great to recommend sport given the obvious additional benefits that are attributed to it.
Having access to more people within your personal network will surely help you in the long-run when it comes to trying to make as many new friends as possible. I, for one, have often found the sport of Wheelchair Basketball very rewarding, both from a physical exercise standpoint and also from the viewpoint of possible networking opportunities.
Maintain a positive attitude towards others
You’ll be far more approachable as a person if you’re striving to maintain a positive attitude in life and with those around you. Positivity also attracts positivity, so those that do gravitate towards you are more likely to be bringing further good vibes themselves.
Remember to smile at any given moment, and be polite to those around you. In the stresses of life, it’s often possible to forget to be pleasant to one another – but if you remember to keep it on board and spread that message of positivity, you’re more than likely to find people willing to stick around and become a friend.
Be presentable and approachable
Whether we like it or not, we live in a world full of stereotypes and stigmas, and as a result, image can play a huge part in your ability to form relationships with others. One easy way to improve your overall image is just to take better care of yourself. You may feel lazy in the mornings and forget to brush your hair, for example – but by remembering to do so you’re setting a trend within yourself and thus helping yourself to feel more comfortable and appear more approachable.
There are many different ways in which you can enhance your personal image, from the way you carry yourself in terms of body language, to the clothes you wear. For more examples areas such as clothing, you can check out the passionate people’s blog on the Invacare website, for articles such as: “How Adaptive Clothing Changed Everything For Me”.
Of course, there are many other ways in which you can make friends and find more people with whom you’d like to spend your free time. These are just some of the things you can do to help you on your way. Good luck with all your friendship goals and endeavours!
