Times have definitely changed, and it’s no longer super strange to be single for longer than you probably want to be. There are so many things to do before settling down these days and you don’t have to get married as soon as you graduate high school and move out of your parents’ house (can you imagine?!). It’s pretty cool that you have so many opportunities and chances to follow your dreams today, and that you don’t have to rely on a guy for anything at all. With that comes some pros and cons, though, so, of course, it’s okay if you’re not super thrilled about not being in a relationship right now. But it’s possible to be okay with being single and to even think it’s a pretty good idea right now. It really is. If you don’t believe us, just keep reading. Here are 15 reasons to choose yourself over a relationship.
15You’re Young
You’re still super young, and that means that you have a lot of time to fall in love in the future. You don’t have to fall in love today, tomorrow, or even next month. It’s okay to focus on yourself and your life and not want to worry about anyone else. It’s hard to grow up and become an adult when you’re in a super serious relationship. Sure, that can be great, but only if you and this guy grow up together and you don’t mind the changes. But most of the time, you end up breaking up because you’re both too young and you have too much to do and experience before really and truly settling down. You may not realize it, but you’re basically way too young to get married because getting married is a much bigger deal than you might even think that it is. So bask in the glory of your youth and enjoy your single life.
14You’re Finding Yourself
You can, of course, still find yourself when you’re in a relationship… but only if it’s the right one for you. And, of course, most relationships when you’re young pretty much suck. You make the wrong decisions and choose the wrong person and make mistakes and have more heartbreak than you want. So it’s much better to be single and choose yourself over a relationship because right now, you’re still finding yourself. And this is literally the most important thing that you will do in the next little while. They often say that until you love yourself, you can’t love anyone else or even let them love you, and while that may seem like cheesy advice, it’s still pretty true. You deserve to have this time to yourself to find yourself and figure out who you really are so that when you do meet the right person, you’ll be ready for them and you won’t make as many mistakes as you would right now.
13You Want To Establish Your Career
There’s this whole stereotype about single women who want to work hard and not even think about finding a boyfriend, but hey, if the stereotype fits… The truth is that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to establish your career before finding love. It’s really the smartest way to be because the truth is that no matter how much you love them, boys are honestly a distraction sometimes. Just think about how you feel when you’ve just started dating someone. Yeah, exactly. Your hormones are making all your decisions for you and you feel like you’re going absolutely crazy and have zero control over anything in your life. That’s pretty awesome, of course, because it’s super exciting and thrilling, but it does make it hard to focus on other things. Like work. It’s smart to choose yourself over a relationship right now so you can really focus on your career and be in a much better position when you do find someone in the future.
12You’re Confused
If you have anything in your life that you’re confused about (and hey, you probably do, because you’re only human at the end of the day), then it’s a good idea to choose yourself over a boyfriend. You will have the time and energy to really figure out whatever issue you have. Maybe you’re not sure how to eat healthy or what kind of workout you should do or maybe you’re dealing with a more serious health or career or personal issue. Whatever is going on, it’s okay to take the time that you need to fix it and feel better again. You don’t have to apologize for not wanting to date right now or feeling like you’re just not in the right headspace for meeting new guys and getting into anything. You don’t have to apologize for anything that you do, really (unless you’re being a crappy person), but especially not about wanting to be on your own for a little while longer.
11You’re Done With Drama
There’s tons of drama in dating, no doubt about it, and the drama factors go way up when you get serious with someone. You might not think that’s true because hey, guys always want you to believe that you’re the one being super dramatic and not them. But just remember any serious relationship that you’ve been in (or even an almost relationship) and, yeah, you’ll realize pretty quickly that guys bring tons of drama into your world. If you don’t want anything like that right now, there’s nothing wrong with being alone and not wanting to start anything. It’s tough to be in a relationship and share your life with someone else, and sometimes love isn’t enough, and sometimes it doesn’t matter how much potential you think someone has. You’re just not in the right place to go through all that and deal with someone else’s problems and expectations and hopes.
10You’re Learning
You should always be learning about yourself and your place in the world, and if that’s you right now, then it honestly makes a whole lot of sense to choose yourself over a relationship. You owe yourself this time to take a step back from dating, not worry about any of that noise, and just do what you want. It can be tough to go through this kind of self-love journey when you’re in a serious relationship. You get distracted by how much you care about this guy and you get super caught up in his world and his issues and what he’s dealing with. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but if you’re still learning who you are and you still want to know who you’re going to become, you might want to choose yourself over any sort of relationship. It’s just going to be a whole lot easier and sometimes it’s okay to take the simpler route.
9You Don’t Know Who You Want
Sometimes you don’t know what you want out of life, like what kind of job you want or where you’re going next, but then other times, you don’t know who you want, period. If you’re not even sure what kind of person you want to date, let alone what kind of person your next boyfriend should be, then you should definitely stay single right now. You just should. It’s silly to date all kinds of guys and figure that you’ll know what kind of person you want to be with when you meet him, because hey, most dates suck. And you’re just going to get super frustrated because you might go on ten dates in a row and realize that you don’t have any idea who you want because you don’t like these ones, either. That’s just going to send you down a super negative road that you don’t want to go down. It’s better to take some time and space to yourself to think about what kind of qualities you want in someone. That’s going to save you a lot of time.
8You Want To Be Sure
Sometimes you can’t look before you leap in life — you just have to take a deep breath and go for it. Some decisions just need to be made way before you have any clue what kind of end result there will be. But sometimes it’s okay to want to be sure, and that is definitely true when it comes to love and dating. If you want to choose yourself over a relationship because you truly want to be sure when you fall for someone, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s honestly a really great idea if you’ve been dating for a while now and are never really sure when you like someone or not because dating can be so confusing. Modern dating is so frustrating and confusing sometimes and that’s basically the understatement of the century. It can be tough to know if you like someone as a friend or a potential boyfriend or what’s going on. So taking a step back is okay. It’s smart, even.
7You Have Goals And Dreams
It’s not that you can’t reach your goals and follow your deepest dreams if you’re in a relationship. Of course, you can and many people do. It’s not like you have to dump the love of your life just because you want to achieve something in your business. That would be super lame and pathetic. But if you’re already single and in the position of choosing yourself over a relationship, then it might be a really awesome idea to just stop dating for now. You don’t have to stay single forever. You’re just focusing on the here and now, and the here and now means reaching for the stars when it comes to your career. You’re going to be so glad that you did this because in a few months time, you’re going to be even more successful and you will be so glad that you didn’t put off your dreams just because you wanted to go on a few dates. Even if you don’t feel that way right now, you honestly will.
6You’re Over Bad Dates
Sometimes the fact that so many dates absolutely suck is enough of a reason to choose yourself over a relationship. Sure, you’re hoping that one day you’ll go on a date that is actually pretty good, because everyone hopes that, and without that, you can’t ever have a relationship. It just doesn’t work like that. But right now, you’re pretty much drowning in a sea of bad dates and you can’t imagine stepping foot in another hipster bar on a Friday night, about to meet a stranger who could be absolutely annoying and creepy and horrible. If that’s how you feel, then it’s time to take a dating break and just live your life and choose yourself. You’re not going to do yourself any favors if you date with such a negative mindset, and you won’t be much fun on a date, either. Wait until further down the line when you’ve lived your own life and then you’ll be in a much better position to try to find love once again.
5You’re Having A Rough Time
It’s not the best idea to embark on finding a new relationship when you’re going through something. It’s going to be hard to focus on anything other than the tough time that you’re dealing with, and it’s not really fair to present yourself as a fully formed potential girlfriend when you still have some stuff to fix. This rough time won’t last forever, so focus on yourself instead of finding love right now and take care of yourself instead. You’ll be much happier in the long run. If you think that you’re wasting time and that you absolutely need to find a boyfriend instead of focusing on what’s going on in your life, you’re wrong. You won’t be much fun on a date and you won’t be able to give much of yourself to someone new until you face your problems. This won’t last forever, it’s just for right now, and it’s going to be a good thing.
4You’re Not Over Someone
You already know that it’s a pretty terrible idea to jump into something new when you’re still hung up on your last boyfriend. But it needs to be said once again because this is yet another reason that it’s great to choose yourself over a relationship. Again, this isn’t going to last absolutely forever, it’s just for the time being, and you’re going to heal yourself and take care of yourself and be so glad that you did. You can’t love someone new until you get over the person that you just walked away from, and that’s the honest truth. Unless you can open your heart to someone new and trust them and stop thinking about your ex, you’re just not going to be in the best position to fall in love again. It doesn’t matter how much you want to find love or how sad you are to be on your own, that’s just the way that it goes. Stay single right now and see what happens.
3You’re Curious
If you’ve never, ever been single and you’ve jumped from relationship to relationship, then you might be curious about what this whole single life is all about. That’s a really great reason to be single since it’s something that you’ve been thinking about for a while now. Maybe your best friends have been on their own for a while and you’ve realized that they seem even happier than people who are in serious relationships. Or maybe it has nothing to do with your friends or anyone else, it’s just something that’s been on your mind and that you think that you should try. The truth is that you could be in a new relationship tomorrow if you wanted to be. Okay, maybe not tomorrow exactly, but pretty quickly. You could go out with the next guy who wanted to see you for a second date and, boom, instant boyfriend. But you don’t want that because that’s pretty lame.
2You’re Used To It
Sometimes it’s okay to go ahead and continue on with the status quo. It’s not always the best option, but you don’t have to strive for perfection in every aspect of your life. That’s not a way to live in a healthy and happy way. If you’re used to being single and you’ve been on your own for a while, then that’s a great reason to choose the single life for just a little bit longer. It’s gong to be a major upheaval when you find someone that you really care about and when you want to share your world with someone else. It’s going to be awesome, of course, and it’s probably what you’ve been waiting for, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a tough adjustment at first. If you don’t want that right now and you’re happy with how comfortable you are in your fabulous life, it’s okay to let things stay this way for a bit. There’s nothing wrong with that and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This is your decision and your life.
1You Want To
It’s okay if you like being single and want to stay this way. It really is. Society may act like you’re one step away from having a bunch of cats and being super desperate but you’re not a loser if you like being on your own. Being solo can be awesome. You can focus on what you want, when you want, and you don’t have to deal with anyone else. It can be really freeing and it can make you feel like your head is clear and your energy is up 24/7. Sometimes you don’t have to have a reason for something other than you really want it. So if you want to be single, go for it. It’s a decision that only you can make. And if you’re not in the right headspace to date right now or you would rather be solo than find a boyfriend, then that’s what you should do, because trying to force yourself to date and find someone won’t work out too well. So bask in the glory of your fun and fabulous single life. You’ll be ready to get back out there before you know it.
