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There are countless songs, poems and speeches about the power of love and how meaningful it is to find “the one.” Every year, on their anniversary, married couples get to make a little toast honoring how long they’ve stayed together. But you know what? Single people deserve their songs, poems and toasts. Sure, making a relationship work can be hard, but you know what’s also hard? Keeping your head on straight while you power through endless bad dates, swipe past too many catfishes and survive a dozen situationships.
If you’re single, you know it’s a choice and one made from a place of strength. Your married friends might look at you with those pity eyes and talk about your life like it’s missing something. But, your singlehood isn’t a sign of lack. It’s a testament to your boundaries and your standards. Here are eight reasons you should be proud of being single.
Codependency Doesn’t Rule Your Life
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If you are single, that means you either don’t have co-dependency issues or you have decided not to let them rule your life. Codependency is the glue that holds many couples together (eh-em, you know who they are). Just because a lot of people are in relationships doesn’t mean they should be. Some are just in relationships because they’re afraid to be alone. You have succeeded at not falling victim to that, and that’s something to feel really good about.
You Didn’t Settle
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You know for sure that you didn’t settle. And a lot of people settle. Between societal expectations, your family’s expectations and loneliness, there are a lot of reasons people accept a sub-par relationship. But you’ve decided you want a relationship that excites, empowers, enlivens and betters you as a person. You won’t commit to anything less. Finding something like that takes time, and you’ve decided to be patient. Cheers to you for that.
You’re Working On Yourself
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Even healthy relationships can stagnate personal growth. Some of your biggest personal growth spurts will happen when you’re single. There can be a little pressure, once in a relationship, to not change too much. You don’t want to outgrow the relationship. So, relationships can put some people in a state of arrested development. Meanwhile, you’re over here getting better every day, with no limitations.
You’re Setting Yourself Up For Success
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The longer you’re alone, the more you see that you can be happy alone. The more you see that the less reason you have to settle. Every day you become clearer on your standards for a relationship. And, you’re having a great time without one, so you can be brutally honest (with yourself) about every date. When you do finally decide a relationship is worth giving up your singlehood for, it’s going to be a pretty epic one.
Your Self-Worth Is Self-Contained
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You do not attach your sense of self-worth to external validation or another person’s love of you. You have enough love for yourself. You aren’t trying to fill any voids with someone else’s attention. This puts you in a great position to only date people who value you as much as you value yourself – and it’s a lot.
You Know The Pressure Is Real
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Your single status is the center of attention at friends’ nights, family dinners and even your office holiday parties. Everybody wants to know if you’re dating, why you’re single, what’s your type…it’s exhausting. It’s so exhausting it almost makes you want to get in a relationship so people will leave you alone. But, you’ve resisted, and you power through those annoying, endless interrogations.
You’re A Role Model
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You are a role model for others in your life who are hanging on by a thread. Your single friends who are considering settling, see you and are inspired. They feel like if you can be happy single, so can they. You never know how many friends you could have kept out of bad relationships just by being you.
You’re Financially Independent
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Life is expensive, but less so with a partner. You know there are people in bad relationships, just so they can split the rent. But you’ve decided not to go that route. As a result, you’ve probably challenged yourself to make more financially savvy decisions, setting yourself up for life-long financial independence.
