Forty Things You Should Not Do when You Meet a New Friend

When deciding whether or not you want to befriend someone or accept their unspoken request to be their friend, there are a few things you might want to consider in an effort to avoid becoming another toxic friendship statistic. Check out the following list of things you should not do when you meet a new friend.

Should Not Do List:

1. Allow him or her to cross your personal boundary lines

2. Pretend to be something you're not

3. Change who you are

4. Be to humble

5. Act desperate for his or her friendship

6. Agree with most everything he or she says

7. Loan or freely give money to him or her

8. Be their taxi service

9. Help them find a job at your place of employment

10. Let them borrow your car

11. Buy things for them that they should be buying for themselves but won't

12. Tell them how much the friendship means to you

13. Tell them all your secrets (keep some to yourself)

14. Discuss your personal business (it's none of theirs)

15. Give them the keys to your house or apartment

16. Give them the keys to your heart

17. Be their problem solver

18. Be available at their beck and call

19. Tell them how much money you make

20. Discuss your marriage or relationship with a significant other

21. Introduce them to your immediate family

22. Introduce them to your extended family

23. Babysit their kids

24. Cook meals for them and their family

25. Offer to much friendly advice (don't be their therapist)

26. Spend too much time with them in person

27. Spend too much time talking to them on the telephone

28. Brag about how many other friends you have

29. Stop doing what you were doing to cater to their needs

30. Change the way you do things in order to please them

31. Always go where they want to go and do what they want to do

32. Answer all of the personal questions they ask you

33. Start a business with him or her

34. Run errands for them

35. Be their personal flunky

36. Put them on a pedestal of friendship

37. Be their surrogate parent

38. Be their doctor

39. Help them do what they should be doing for themselves

40. Use them for your own personal gain