After having crossed the first stage i.e. be friending people we need to maintain the friendship which needs our dedicated commitment.

The following are some suggestions to maintaining a healthy friendship:

Appreciate our friends – We should not take our friends for granted. We should take the time to thank our friends for enhancing our life, in whichever way suits best - for example, inviting them over for dinner for no other reason than to have fun together.

Offer time and attention - friendships need to be nurtured. If we are consistently too busy to give time to our friends, they will one day move on without us. Ensure you make friendship an important priority. We should actively listen to our friends, and show our interest and enthusiasm in their lives.

Be compassionate - people make mistakes. Sometimes, a friend may do something of which we don't approve. At this juncture we should put ourselves in their shoes – should we want condemnation or forgiveness from those who are supposed to love and care for us?

Don't abuse trust - for example, if a friend tells us a secret, we should keep it to ourselves. We might think we're building relationships with others by sharing gossip, but we're actually ensuring that others won't trust us enough to tell us anything. And if our friend finds out we abused their trust, our relationship with them is as good as over.

Control jealousy - we may want your best friend to be 'faithful' to us, which means we experience jealousy if they have other close relationships. We should learn to appreciate that love for friends - like love for one's children - can be limitless. Remember each friend has a place which no one else can occupy in another’s life.