As an adult, your life is filled with work, kids, marriage and other responsibilities. It may not be until your kids become teenagers and your spouse is working late that you realize that you don't have a friend to call and spend time with. Making friends after 40 can be difficult because you're "too busy," which tends to isolate you. By slowing down and actively searching for ways to meet new people, you can find friends based on mutual interests and what you can offer another person.
Step 1
Join a club or group with people your own age. A community book club geared toward the over-40 crowd can allow you to meet others with whom you have things in common. You could also try MeetUp.com, a website that allows people to form groups based on common interests. Try to find an over-40 group in your area that meets regularly for social events, and expand your circle of friends.
Step 2
Introduce yourself and take the initiative to get to know someone new, suggests Redbook Magazine. If you keep seeing the same person at the library or while waiting to pick up your children from school, you may exchange glances and smiles every day without getting to know each other. Say "hello" and make small talk each time you see someone. Soon, you'll feel confident enough to propose coffee or another activity.
Step 3
Enroll in a community class that teaches you something new while allowing you to get to know new friends. A computer class, language class or aerobic class meets regularly, which means you have regular events to meet up with a new friend. When the class is over, you can ask for email addresses or phone numbers to keep in touch with your new friends.
Step 4
Offer to help out. When you hear that acquaintances or neighbors are moving, need someone to watch their dog or are learning how to garden, offer your expertise and get to know them better. Make sure that you're there to support them through a tough time. Turning 40 can bring new challenges through teenagers, health problems and marital issues for others, too, and you can become a friend in order to gain one. Friendships are sometimes best forged through difficult trials and life changes, notes Bella DePaulo, contributing editor at "Psychology Today."
Step 5
Find common bonds between yourself and another 40-year-old. Whether you work in the same industry, or are both raising older children or renovating your home, find things that you have in common to build the foundation for a friendship.
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