DW's Blog

Frenemies

by DW Green — October 9, 2019

It’s about not judging other people’s behavior, but judging our own.

It’s pretty obvious that one should keep away from the wicked and two-faced as much as possible—the jealous friend, the narcissistic parent, the untrustworthy partner. Avoid false friends.

But what if we turn it around? What if, instead, we ask about the times that we have been false to our friends? It’s about not judging other people’s behavior, but judging our own.

We’ve all been a frenemy at one point or another. We’ve been nice to their face—usually because there was something in it for us —but later, in different company, we said how we truly felt. Or we’ve strung someone along, cared only when things were going well, or declined to help even though someone really needed us.

This behavior is beneath us—and worth remembering the next time we accuse someone else of being a bad friend.