Find Your "Dream Team"

Make a goal for the New Year to identify your support network and make sure you have positive relationships in your life.

The Williams' sisters say that they surround themselves with their "Dream Team". These are the people who support and encourage them to do their best and achieve to their potential.

Like the Williams' sisters, it is important that you too have your "Dream Team" and surround yourself with positive and supportive people. These people help you to deal with things in a positive way and to feel good about who you are. When we feel good about ourselves we have a healthy self-esteem and subsequently we are more likely to achieve our best in all areas.

Lose the negative vibes!!!

Friends who constantly put you down, tease you, talk behind your back, spread rumours about you or treat you negatively are NOT real friends. When you continue to hang out with these negative influences, you feel bad about yourself and your self-esteem can decrease. With a lowered self-esteem, you are less likely to be motivated to achieve your best and more likely to lose confidence, feel insecure, and feel worthless. It's time to realize that even if these girls are in the "popular" group, they are not helpful to you and you need to go out and find some positive friendships.

How to make positive friendships:

1. Firstly, you need to identify the characteristics that you feel are important in a good friend. These might include: being caring, honest, loyal, fun, helpful, and so on.
2. Identify which girls at your school, club, church youth group and other places you hang out have these qualities.
3. Narrow down the list by selecting those with similar interests to you.
4. Now, you need to start some conversations and see who you "click" with.
5. Once you've had a few conversations, try organising an activity with your new friend…maybe shopping, hanging out at the beach or checking out the latest movie.
6. Before you know it, you have a new friend.

Remember the goal and keep the friendship a positive one!