So, audit your circle. Not with judgment, but with gratitude. Let the low-index friendships fade into the polite periphery. Pour your heart into the high-index ones. And strive, every day, to be a high-index friend to someone else.

Because the only metric that matters at the end of your life is this: Who is sitting in the waiting room?

The hardest part of the Friends Index is realizing that to someone else. Are you showing up? Are you asking the hard questions? Or are you just broadcasting your own life? How to Curate, Not Cut The goal of the Friends Index is not to leave you alone. It is not a ruthless culling of your Christmas card list. The goal is allocation .