3) Ride out transitions. Not only is it harder to make new friends when you no longer have the automatic proximity you had to peers in your school days, but it is common (and natural) to have friendships wither away when life transitions shift the relationship—from a geographical move to a change in job to marriage, kids, retirement, health issues, or divorce. Many of us are bereft after a life transition—feeling ashamed of the fact that we seemingly don’t have many friends anymore—and yet it is quite a normal problem to have. It has nothing to do with who you are as a person, and everyone goes through it at some point. Those that emerge better off than before are the ones who take it as a logistical challenge to overcome, not as something to be embarrassed about.