Back Again; Putting a Friendship to the Test; Shout Outs!!!
Thread Heads!
Back at it!
Hey everyone! Good to be back in the blogging chair for the fellas!
We’re gonna get into friendship on this one, as I recently experienced an uncomfortable-yet-incredibly-necessary conversation with someone I didn’t think was acting like a good friend. But more on that in a minute…
It’s been since…APRIL!!! I haven’t written a Threads Blog in a minute!
A lot has happened in the Threadsverse since last we met. Too much to dive into in one blog, anyway, so I’ll just say this: Listen to new episodes every Friday, and catch up on the old ones!
Now…let’s get going, shall we?
Testing a Friendship
A friend and I recently had (or almost had) a falling out. We had plans to do something. He broke the plans to do something with someone else. He asked me to help him with something. It was a few weeks away. I had stuff going on, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t reschedule in order to help a buddy. Then, I texted him the night before to make sure everything was still going ahead as planned. He said he didn’t need the help after all.
After that I was like, Hey dips**t, what the f**k is up with you bailing on our friendship all the time?
Totally kidding, that’s not what I said. (I did think it, however.)
But I went back to the toolbox I acquired writing these blogs, specifically these two: “The Importance of Uncomfortable Conversations” and “A Beginners Guide to Uncomfortable Conversations”. If a friend is really a friend, one should be able to call bulls**t without fear of losing said friendship. (Tactfully…duh.)
But that’s easier to say than really commit to. But I thought, Ah forget. Yo, home to Bellaire!
(Sorry. Couldn’t help it.)
But I took a breath did it; I called him out, said “What’s up? I feel like you make plans with me just in case something better doesn’t come up.”
Then guess what happened…
He flipped the so-so friendship stuff back on me. He said, “You didn’t seem enthusiastic at all when I asked you about those things, then you never followed up except at the last minute. I didn’t know if you were gonna show so I asked someone else.”
That blew my mind. I had it in my head that my friend was 100% the d**khead in this debacle. But then I realized that I was partly to blame for this whole thing.
We talked, went deep on how we felt and why we behave, in general, the way we do, and all that mess.
To make a long story longer, we came to an understanding. Not just on those few incidents in question, but as to who we both were, how we communicate, what we hold back out of fear, and how we really feel. Then we cried and hugged and gave each other makeovers.
OK, no crying and hugging and makeovers. But whatever the hetero white guy equivalent is. Fist bump over a beer or something.
Just remember: if a friendship isn’t mutually beneficial–it’s not a friendship. And if you don’t feel comfortable having uncomfortable conversations with a friend…friend might not be the right word for that person.
Spreading a Little Gratitude
The most recent episode the guys put out (which you can listen to here) is called “The Shout Out Show” because, ya know…they did shout outs.
The guys acknowledged the people in their lives that make them who they are. Sometimes it’s sweet and soft-spoken, like when Ben verbalized his gratitude to his dear wife.
Sometimes it’s harsh and a bit self-deprecating, like when Jason thanked his parents for f***ing up his childhood.
But both are explored and, uncomfortable to say, sure, but honest.
I’d like to spread a little gratitude of my own, since I’m here and all…
You may or may not know, Jason and Ben were a big part of me getting into podcasting and blogging for cash. They’ve been very supportive and encouraging to me personally outside of their show. So…
THANKS GUYS!
I highly recommend practicing gratitude on the regular. It might help to practice a little mindfulness first.
And that’s all I’ve got to say for now.
Before You Go…
The blog! If you’ve listened to every show, then read every blog. Once you’ve done that, the only thing left is get on social media and get touch with the guys and me. Then you can have a direct impact on the show!
On behalf of the guys and myself: take care of yourselves!
-CT
Christopher Tallon writes, podcasts, and…wait a second. Are you actually reading this? High five! Follow me here:
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