Is there a course on how to make friends in your 30s?

I was focusing on my career and just working - suddenly realised I don't have any good friends. I quit my job, in depression right now. I am also an introvert which makes it very hard for me to go to a public gathering. I also don't smoke/drink. How do I make new friends?

Acknowledge Your Feelings: Accept that you are lonely or have a monotonous life and you need to make the change. Don't hide behind "I'm an introvert", no you are just lazy and you are ok with living the shitty life, you just want spoon feeding, nothing else. Be Open to New Experiences. It's all about initiatives, you have to take risks and put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Do following at least once per week: Have lunch/dinner/ outside your house. Watch a movie in the theatre instead on your laptop. Work from a cafe. Talk to a stranger. Play a sport/game, you don't have to be good at it. Many people just play for fun. Find events:Just google "events near me" or "events in bangalore" etc. Give priority to physical in person experiences instead of digital ones. Explore your surroundings, go for a walk in the morning or evening, take out time, talk to your neighbours. Reach Out to Colleagues or Alumni, we all have active fiends, get in touch with them. Take Classes or Workshops, even if you are not interested. Don't hesitate to spend money on experience, see money as investments, not expenses. Don't self reject: means don't think about what would happen and just at home, anyway you aren't doing anything. People took initiatives to start groups & clubs, either start one for your area of interest, or join one. Practice Self-Care and Stay in Touch with Loved Ones: you know what that means. All this would impact your personal & professional life as well. You will stop blaming your job/manager/colleagues and accept that you were the problem, it's your choice to change your life. If you don't do any of this and still cry about your life, hope you know that "nobody cares about your shitty life, nobody is going to come save you, you are on your own and survival of the fittest". If you don't put in the effort, you deserve whatever shitty place you are at. It might not be as easy, but don't let yourself take advantage of you.

What started as an Instagram-inspired social experiment has turned into a startup idea. (Refer: Men https://grapevine.in/post/808462ef-8ae0-4269-aaa3-c683ba1194bb and women https://grapevine.in/post/6bcaeffa-0cac-44a2-98a5-fc7a14786e85 survey) Few observations: 1. Our generation has moved on from orthodox thinking (baring few people) to more emotional compatibility 2. Men have more worldly expectations, while women seek spiritual features; none are right/wrong as long as they find each other. 3. Very glad that no one 'expected' the partner to take up gendered roles as dictated by society So, coming to the matchmaking platform. The idea is to have all aspects of life considered - personality, profession, family, demographics, physical attributes, etc. and have a weighted scale against them. Though I have my doubts here 1. An Introvert will need an extrovert to seek them but will be drained of social battery later. How do they match? 2. Physical attributes pull down people who aren't confident with their looks; that doesn't relate to how good/bad they are as partners. But without pictures, it will be a risky surprise element. 3. Prevent parents from creating accounts on children's behalf. Probably a social media log-in Share your thoughts on the compatibility algorithm and the problems we may face. P.S. I am not a techie, will need someone to actually build this. Will take care of marketing. Let's help someone find their soulmate ❤️ P.P.S. If this takes off, I will change my username to TimaSaparia

Folks in the age group of 32 and above. What significant change you saw in your life post 30 both in terms of health and work? What do you wish you had done better or a piece of advice for the ones in 20’s. I understand good workouts, healthy eating and financial discipline are top of the list. Would love to get some perspectives beyond that.

Recently I was having a discussion with one "friend" which quickly turned into an argument and now I think we are done with each other forever. The argument made me realise that the more we grow up, the more we firm the boundaries around us, we make it hard for people to enter into our lives. We stop making compromises, we expect things to happen our way, we stop accepting that even we could be wrong sometimes. Even more interesting is how we handle the situations when someone starts questioning our choices, our decisions, our beliefs, we become all defensive and never admit that maybe the foundation of all we stand for is incorrect and needs re-examining. All we seek is echo chambers and yesmen in our lives and that's where we go wrong. I wish people weren't like this, I wish I wasn't like this. Perhaps this world would be a peaceful place. Sorry for the rant, but had to vent it out somehow.

How can I cultivate deep and meaningful relationships / friendships? I've had very few friends since childhood, and now at 26, I feel quite lonely. I've noticed that the relationships people form in adulthood, such as at work, tend to be superficial. Without some close-knit relationships, that sense of emptiness never seems to go away.

Most of us on Grapevine, working in corporate sector might make decent chunk of money if we keep grinding for a decade or two but very few of us would have the social capital (or as they say “networking” in our corporate jargon). Increasingly realising that the society respects the business owners or govt officers more than any senior leader in an IT firm. There is no social recognition for corporate folks. It might not be relevant for young folks as they still have some residual social recognition of the family for now, but what would happen after a decade or two. Most of the corporate “friends” are no longer in touch except for very rare ones. How does one build a social circle after 10-20 yrs in corporate? Would like to hear from folks above 40 yrs if they’ve had similar thoughts and how are they managing? Also, What are some ways one can start building social circle overtime while doing a corporate job? PS: I am referring social capital as having a certain level of stature in society alongwith deep connections with some people living around you who can help you in need or can expect something from you. This is different from LinkedIn networking where primary expectation is referrals.