Most adults fall into one of two friendship patterns, both equally problematic:
The Scatter Pattern: Trying to maintain dozens of casual friendships across every possible domain. This creates broad but shallow connections that provide little meaningful support.
The Cluster Pattern: All friendships concentrated in one life area—usually work or parenting. This creates vulnerability when that context changes (job loss, kids growing up, moving).
Both patterns share fundamental flaws:
No Strategic Diversity: Like financial investments, friendships in only one "sector" create risk. When that sector fails, your entire social life collapses.
Resource Misallocation: Without a portfolio strategy, you waste energy maintaining relationships that don't serve diverse life needs while neglecting critical gaps.
Support System Gaps: Different life challenges require different types of friends. Work friends might not understand parenting struggles. Parent friends might not relate to career challenges.
Lack of Intentionality: Most people accumulate friends accidentally based on convenience rather than strategically building a balanced support network.
Traditional advice to "make more friends" ignores this portfolio problem. You don't need MORE friends—you need the RIGHT MIX of friends.