It's wonderful when you meet someone sweet, willing and eager to help. It's great to know there are people who give without expecting anything in return, except maybe a thank you or common courtesy.
However, these people are easy to take advantage of. They offer openly with a smile and sometimes that is met with complacency and advantage. So here are a few tips to prevent a nice person from later considering you a non-friend and user.
1. If you eat at the person's house, be respectful.
It isn't likely that he or she wants repayment or food brought to add if you were invited to dinner. You aren't expected to cook or wipe down the kitchen or take out the trash. However, be courteous. Take your own dishes into the kitchen, throw away your trash, and say THANK YOU. If you don't at least display common courteous behavior when someone is doing something nice for you, you're being a jerk.
2. Call during the good times and the bad
If you're only contacting one of your friends when something goes wrong, you're lonely, you need something, or you need to vent, you're using that person. Friendship helps hold us up when we're falling down, but it should also be a sharing of good times, good news, and fun activities. Just because one friend is really helpful when things get rough doesn't mean that you only contact him/her when they are.
3. Ask about your friend's life
If you spend every minute of every conversation talking about your life, how well do you really know your friend? Remember that it's a two-way street. Nice people sometimes don't ask for support when they need it because s/he thinks that it would make him/her a bad friend if s/he needs help sometimes. Make sure that you're displaying that you're wanting a real friendship with a two-way street. If you're comfortable enough, ask on occasion if s/he could use help with something you notice or know that s/he is working on.
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