Let’s say you were suddenly promoted, or you have a new gadget, or perhaps something really good happened to you.
Then from out of the blue, here comes this person who is suddenly full of praises for you, “Wow, man you’re so lucky! Don’t forget to share your blessings with me, okay! After all, you and I go a long way!”
Or maybe you have been in these situations:
“Hi, I want to offer you these really great products. I’m sure you can afford my terms. C’mon, let’s have coffee.”
“I’m so embarrassed. We haven’t seen each other in a while, but I really need some money. I don’t know who else to turn to for help.”
“Wow, you’re a manager now. Imagine, you were just a rank and file officer? Maybe you can squeeze in an opening for me?”
Bottom line is, you haven’t seen each other or even talked to each other in a very, very long time…hey, you’re not even sure if you ever became friends but you clearly remember when he would belittle your skills in front of others and won’t even lift a finger to help you in your times of need.
This is what you call a “user friendly people”.
People like them are like “mushrooms”, they sudden show up when they have something to gain from you, but when they don’t need you anymore then they quickly disappear.
What are the signs that a person is a fair-weathered friend?
- PRESENT ONLY WHEN THEY NEED SOMETHINGAs the saying goes, “A friend in need is a friend indeed”.
But for a “fair-weathered friend”, they have a different interpretation of this. For them, they are your friends only when they need something from you.
Example: You get promoted.
You will notice how they would suddenly show up just so they can tag along when you share your “blessings”, like: be treated out, loan money, or perhaps praise you just to get your feelings and then later on coax you into doing what they want.
- AVOID YOU WHEN THINGS DON’T GO TOO WELL FOR YOU.When things don’t go well for you, let’s say when you don’t have money, you got robbed or you lost your job, you try so hard to get in touch with them thinking they may be able to help you out. But no, they won’t respond to your texts, calls, or personal messages on your social media accounts. They are obviously avoiding you.
And when you do bump into them, they would probably say;
“I didn’t read your messages.”
“I’m busy.”
“I changed my phone number.”
- THEY DIDN’T TREAT YOU WELL BEFORE, BUT NOW THEY’RE SUDDENLY SO NICE TO YOUThese are the people who looked down on you before. They abused you, laughed at you, bullied you and said bad things about you. In other words, they are the reason for your pain, heartache and low self-esteem right now.
Then when something good happened in your life, they are the first ones to be there claiming to be you close friends as if nothing happened between you in the past.
If you know someone like this, better stay away from them.
At the end of the day, you will get hurt.
They will just use you and suck you dry.
Be wise not to be lured by their sweet promises and pretensions.
True friends are people who can stick with you not only in good times but also in bad ones.
THINK. REFLECT. APPLY.
Do you know people who fall into this category?
How do you deal with them?
(Chinkee Tan is a top Filipino motivational speaker, wealth and life coach whose goal is to inform, educate, motivate, and disturb. His vision is to help people become financially-literate and debt-free. For more info about Chinkee Tan, please visit his fan page at FB, Twitter and Instagram. Also follow VIBER PUBLIC CHAT GROUP search chinkee tan, and VISIONCHINKEE on You Tube for more news and encouragements.)
