Researchers Claim That Your Meanest Friend is the Real One
We all find ourselves at tight spots at times and friends are the ways out of those tight spots. And we do the same for them of course. These things are one of the pillars that keep life sane and enjoyable.
Friends are deep influencers too, making an impression on the very way you live, laugh, smile, cry; not to mention making a dent, good or bad, on your preferences.
Good friendships can be great, even for the world: for example, the friendships between Ezra Pound and TS Eliot, or say, between James Joyce and Samuel Beckett created works of literature that have changed the world views itself.
At the same time, toxic friendships can change the way a person looks at emotions as a whole. It is a thin line and sometimes it takes more than an eye to know; and consequently, people go through one or two of these to settle for the permanent ones later in life.
Correct me if I am wrong but every single one of us has one of those absolutely mean-ass friends who do not appear to care much for feelings or appropriateness. They are the ones we love to hate, or hate to love, take your pick.
Well, a recent study showed that these are the friends we really need in our lives, they are the ones that actually mean well.
The study was conducted by the University of Plymouth. To summarise the study, some people make others feel negative emotions, in the hope and with the intention of those emotions helping the others in the future.
You know what we mean? This is the study talking about all those true people in your life who just don’t back off from putting you in an awkward scenario, because they think it will help you out when you face a real-life challenge.
The aim of the study and the conclusion also at that, quoting one of the scientists of the study, Belen Lopez-Perez, was to demonstrate that people can be cruel to actually be generous and kind.
They are capable of making someone feel bad if they know said person will benefit from said feeling; there must not necessarily be a personal angle; an ulterior motive.
The study shows that expectations from those negative emotions might be very specific, that is, people might be very particular about the kind of lesson they want their friends to learn from a particular act.
This study goes on to prove one more lesson, never judge books or people by their covers or faces respectively.
If this research is to be believed, it would also prove the fact that humans are capable of surprising you. They are in no way simplistically emoting beings; they have highly nuanced emotions which are still able to work for the betterment of others, towards the development of empathy.
So, next time you think of cutting off ‘real’ friends, think again, and more carefully.