10 Things You Can Learn from Friends

Over the years, Friends made us laugh and cry and along the way it opened up our eyes to what really is all about and how it ought to be lived. Here are 10 things we learned from the show.

Despite having ended an entire decade ago (hard to believe, right?), Friends still means as much to the world as it ever did. Re-run after re-run, it never loses its comic value and the lessons it teaches us somehow never seem to get old. To prove my point, here are 10 of the most valuable lessons we can learn from Friends….

#1 Honesty is the Best Policy

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Over the years the friends told several innocent lies, thinking they were doing good, only to find themselves in even hotter water. Most notably, this happened when Phoebe, thinking Mike would leave her for never having had a serious relationship before, allowed Joey to make up an old relationship for her. Obviously, this blew up in their faces when Phoebe couldn’t keep up with the lie, but when she chose to come clean with Mike he loved her all the more for being honest.

#2 Love can be Found in Unexpected Places

You never know where or how you’re going to meet the love of your life, something each of our friends discovered. Monica and Chandler found love with their best friend, Ross and Rachel turned a once cripplingly awkward friendship into something more, and Phoebe met Mike only after Joey ran into a cafe shouting, “Mike!” The point is, you never know when love is going to come knocking so don’t be afraid to open the door.

#3 It’s Okay to be Scared

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Provided you face your fears eventually, it’s okay to be scared. Fear is what makes us feel alive and helps us to grow as a person. When Chandler ran from his own wedding thinking that Monica could be pregnant it seemed for a time that all was lost. However, after stumbling across a baby-grow in a gift shop he realized he had no reason to be afraid and returned to the ceremony a better, wiser person.

#4 Listen to Your Friends

If your friends don’t like your new beau then there’s probably going to be a good reason for it – something we learned from Friends several times over. While you shouldn’t base your love decisions entirely on this, their opinions are still definitely worth taking into consideration. They’re only looking out for you, after all.

#5 What Happens in Vegas…

…does not stay in Vegas. This was the hard lesson Ross and Rachel learned after stumbling drunk into a marriage ceremony, only to wake up the next morning and realize that it was, in fact, legal all over the world. In short, don’t do anything silly or make hasty decisions while you’re drunk.

#6 Never be Afraid to Hug it Out

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You and your friends are bound to have your ups and downs but at the end of the day you’re still friends and it would be a shame for you to lose each other. Friends taught us this time and time again and after a spat of bickering they always managed to put aside their differences and hug it out. Sometimes you have to realize your differences are simply trivial and that a good hug can glue your friendship back together.

#7 Run Like Nobody’s Watching

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter how you do something, just so long as you do it. It doesn’t matter if you run like Phoebe or dance like Monica and Ross, it’s the trying that counts so never be afraid to put yourself out there. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks just so long as you’re happy.

#8 If You Work Hard Enough, You Can Achieve Your Dreams

At the start of season one, we were presented with a group of twenty-somethings who were working in dead end jobs and struggling to make ends meet. Over the course of ten seasons, however, the friends worked hard, putting in all the hours necessary to work their way up the ladder to become soap-stars, executives and head chefs. They taught us never to give up on our dreams, no matter our age and not to let anything hold us back. That said, however…

#9 Work isn’t the Most Important Thing in Your Life

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While this may be a bit contradictory to lesson number eight, the quirky friends taught us that there’s more to life than work. When Rachel was offered a prestigious job in Paris, she initially took it. However, after a heart-wrenching episode (Did she get off the plane?), she realized that she simply couldn’t give up her old life, her friends, and not to mention the love of her life, Ross. Ultimately, living was more important than working.

#10 Your Friends can Get You Through Anything

And most importantly, the show taught us that a solid group of friends can get you through absolutely anything life has to throw at you. Whether it’s a divorce (or three), a jellyfish sting, being fired or anything else, your friends will be there for you.

Within each episode of Friends there are countless little life lessons, each just as important as the next and each important to someone in one way or another. What other lessons did you learn over the years from Friends and which do you think were the most important?

Cover photo: www.weheartit.com

About the author

Nichola

Writing is Nichola’s passion but she's also an avid reader and a massive film geek. Like most of us, Nichola spends way too much time surfing the web, mostly reading blogs on the weird and wonderful or rumours of who's got the lead role in next years hottest films.

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