logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
46m 57s

How to Be a Great Friend, Para-Social Re...

MARK MANSON
About this episode

The quality of your life often comes down to the quality of the relationships you have. That’s why we’re giving a huge f*ck about friendship this week.

While the benefits of having good friends are pretty obvious, the cost of maintaining friendships is often overlooked by a lot of people. We dive into that, plus some advice on when you should and shouldn’t cut off people in your life, and how friends and romantic partners really impact our happiness.

Check it out.

Here’s the paper we discuss:People perceive parasocial relationships to be effective at fulfilling emotional needs

Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person:https://markmanson.net/breakthrough

If you’d like to submit a question for us to consider, you can leave it in the comments below or email it topodcast@markmanson.net

Theme Music: "Icarus Lives" byPeriphery

Up next
Oct 1
How to Become Resilient
Resilience isn’t about pretending you’re fine or never feeling pain—it’s about learning how to act in your best interest despite the pain. In this episode of Solved, we dive deep into the science, psychology, and real-life examples of resilience—from Ernest Shackleton’s crew surv ... Show More
3h 28m
Sep 1
How to Let Go of Your Shame
Chances are, there’s something in your life you feel deeply ashamed about—something you’ve never told anyone, something you can’t even admit to yourself. In this episode, we go deep into the emotion we all experience but almost no one wants to talk about: shame. Where it comes fr ... Show More
3h 42m
Aug 1
How To Finally Let Yourself Be Happy
Everyone’s obsessed with being happy—but what if that obsession is the very thing making us miserable? In this episode of Solved, Drew and I explore what actually makes us feel good—and why most of us are chasing it in all the wrong ways. We unpack what philosophers like Aristotl ... Show More
3h 21m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Making Your Friendships Last Through The Years
On today’s full solo episode, I’m talking all about friendship. Friendships throughout high school, college, early 20s, late 20s, marriage, babies, dogs, and more. We’ll cover how to deal with a friend in a life stage behind you, when you can vs. can’t confront a friend, when to ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 2024
Why do friend breakups hurt so much?
We all know that getting over romantic relationships can take time, sometimes weeks, months or years. Many poems, songs and film scenes have been dedicated to expressing the pain of dealing with such situations. But friendship heartbreaks don’t tend to get so much attention, even ... Show More
4m 50s
Aug 2024
4 FRIENDSHIP RED FLAGS
On todays episode we talk about friendships, the importance of learning how to filter your friendships and the people you choose to welcome into your life. Lookout and let go of people that are only looking to compete with you and that don’t add value into your life. You deserve ... Show More
16m 18s
Sep 2024
Green Flags To Look For In Healthy Friendships and Relationships with Rachel Lovely
Allison and Ceara are joined by Rachel Lovely, a content creator known for giving incredible advice and “girl-talk” style rants on her TikTok page, @rachelovely5.Rachel shares advice through her learned experiences and ability to analyze situations for what they really are. We un ... Show More
1h 3m
Feb 2025
Purpose, Friendship, and Human Skills with Simon Sinek
#216: Unlock the power of purpose and friendship with Simon Sinek. Learn how to find your ‘why,’ strengthen your friendships, and master the human skills that truly matter. Simon Sinek is a globally recognized author, speaker, and thought leader on leadership, purpose, and human ... Show More
58m 17s
Feb 2024
Should Men Pay They Girlfriends? Taking Back a Cheater -159
In this special episode we are answering questions asked on the internet; a guy is complaining about his girlfriend who is expecting that he pays her $1,000 a month, solely BECAUSE! Another question was about how to handle getting cheated on and whether or not you should forgive ... Show More
51m 48s
Aug 2024
#11 - How to deal with toxic relationships and set boundaries
There are amazing relationships out there for you. Remember that you are worthy - that&#39;s how you let those positive relationships come into your life <3 Sources:- Reciprocation as part of human nature - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion- Identify your core values to fin ... Show More
43m 54s
Mar 2024
Break Up With Bad Friends: 22 Girl Code Rules
EP82: This week, we're diving deep into the world of female friendships, but we're taking it a step further than just "Girl Code." We're exploring the importance of respecting yourself and your relationships. I personally believe in holding myself and those around me to a very hi ... Show More
22m 5s
May 2025
197. Overgiving In Friendships? It's Time To Heal Your "I Care More" Wound
If you’ve ever thought, “Why do I always care more?”—this episode is for you. Alissa Boyer unpacks the deep emotional pattern many highly sensitive people experience in friendships: the “I care more” wound. When you’re constantly overgiving, anticipating everyone’s needs, and doi ... Show More
18m 35s
Jul 2024
295. The Three Surprising Reasons Why Relationships Fail
Why do relationships fail? When I ask people, “What’s the biggest issue in your relationship?” they almost always answer, “We don’t communicate.” That’s wrong (yes, I said it). And that wrong answer has you working on the wrong things. You try out all those communication tools to ... Show More
55m 58s