When is a promise not actually a promise?

Nobody likes to have a flaky friend. Being around somebody who constantly says they are going to do things and then never follows through can be mighty annoying; it often gets to the point where it no longer seems to be worth the effort to be friends anymore. Above all else, it seems to show a lack of appreciation for whatever the benefits of the friendship may bring, and that stings.

That being said, who among us hasn’t promised something that we haven’t ended up doing every once in a while? It is pretty normal, for example, to tell somebody that you should hang out at a certain time, and then that doesn’t materialize for whatever reason. 

Ultimately, the strength of a friendship rests on both the magnitude and quantity of broken promises. Most people will let the small things slide at least once or twice, but if it becomes or pertains to a bigger issue, things could get difficult. A refusal to follow through on the things that really matter to the other person could be the sign of a bad friend, but it is sometimes context-dependent.