Single life has its benefits.
It may not always feel like it, but being single does have its perks. In fact, the single life is almost certainly better than being in an unhappy relationship. So relax and enjoy this time until you are ready to settle down with someone who is right for you. Here are 15 reasons why it’s better to be single than in a mediocre relationship.
1. You learn how to be independent.
Everyone should be able to take care of themselves. A healthy dose of independence is desirable whether you’re in a relationship or not. You shouldn’t rely on your partner or anyone else for your happiness.
While you’re single, you’re forced to be more independent, but this isn’t a bad thing. Relying on yourself more than anyone else is a good quality to have. You are entirely in charge of your life, and the decisions you make are purely yours.
It can be challenging to take on so much responsibility, but that alone helps to build your resilience and ability to cope with life’s ups and downs.
And when you do enter into a relationship, you are less likely to become codependent with your partner.
2. You can get to know yourself better.
Most people don’t really know who they are and what they want from life until they’re in their late twenties or early thirties. Seriously, it takes a long time to mature emotionally and learn what your values and priorities are in life.
Being in a relationship during this time can actually stifle your ability to soul search and discover your most authentic self.
Yes, being in love with someone is a wonderful thing, but it can also blind you to your own desires. You have to make compromises and sacrifices and sometimes you can convince yourself that you want something just because it makes most sense for the relationship.
That’s not to say that all relationships stifle self-discovery, but many of them can if you aren’t fully aware of the possibility of that happening.
You don’t have any such problem when you’re single. You can focus on getting to know yourself and growing into who you want to be.
3. You have more time for self-improvement.
Whether it’s becoming more independent, improving your self-esteem, or getting in better shape, you tend to have more time to dedicate to things when you’re single.
Relationships are great, but they take up a lot of time, and it’s easy to allow other important aspects of your life to fall by the wayside. While you’re single, you get to be entirely focused on yourself.
Do you love yourself? If not, why not? What is it that you don’t like about yourself? Whatever it is, you can improve it!
Think about the type of partner you want to be to your future boyfriend or girlfriend. Are there things you need to work on to become that person? Now’s the time.
Working on personal development pays off in more ways than one. Plus, your future partner will be grateful to you for investing in yourself so that you can have a happy and fulfilling life together.
4. You have more time for friends.
Almost everyone neglects their friends when they get into a relationship. We all try not to, but it just happens when you spend most of your time with your partner.
But when you’re single, you appreciate your friendships more and you make more of an effort to keep them strong and healthy.
You can be more spontaneous about meeting up with your friends because your diary isn’t full of things you’ve planned with a partner.
If you’ve ever had a friend disappear on you the moment they got into a relationship, you’ll know the value of spending time with the people who matter most to you.
5. You can have as much alone time as you want.
Honestly, you should try to have some alone time in a relationship, but it’s sometimes hard to get as much as you need or want.
This is particularly important for introverts who need to spend time by themselves in order to recharge and be able to face life.
When you’re single, you can decide not to go anywhere, do anything, or see anyone if that’s what you choose. And you can do this for as long as you need.
Alone time needs can become an issue in a relationship if one partner needs more than the other. Either you have to make yourself available more than you would like or your partner ends up feeling neglected.
You simply don’t have this problem when you’re single.
6. You can be selfish in a healthy way.
There’s nothing wrong with being a little selfish when you’re single. If you don’t have a partner, you don’t have to think about their wants and needs. You can focus on yourself, and think about what you can do to make yourself happy.
Want to spend your money on a spa weekend? Want to eat the last piece of chocolate? Want to do what you want to do when you want to do it? No one’s stopping you!
You are in charge of your life when you’re single, and you can be selfish and think about yourself for a change.
Work on having the life you want and focus on your needs. You are allowed to do that when you’re single!
If you were in a relationship, you would have to consider your partner’s needs and wishes. In addition, you would have to check in with them before making big decisions.
While you’re single, you don’t owe anyone any explanations.
7. You don’t have to deal with the stress of fights and drama.
Relationships can be great, and when we’re single, we tend to focus on the good parts of being in a relationship.
But what about the bad parts? What about all the fights, stress, and drama that comes from being romantically involved with someone?
Relationships are rarely smooth sailing, and there are disagreements and problems in all of them, even the happiest ones.
When you’re single, you might experience other types of stress, but at least you’re free from the stress of being in a relationship.
Right now, you can just relax and enjoy your single lifestyle without worrying whether something you’re doing is upsetting your partner.
8. You don’t have relationship dilemmas.
Is this the right person for me?
Should we break up?
Is it the right time to commit?
What if I love them more than they love me?
Relationship dilemmas are bound to happen, and they tend to come with tons of stress and anxiety.
When you’re single, the only relationship dilemma you need to worry about is whether to get into a relationship with someone or not. There’s no torture of wondering whether you should stay or go, and you don’t have to spend sleepless nights wondering whether you’ve made the right choice.
The truth is, even though it doesn’t always seem like it, being single is less stressful than being in a relationship. You don’t have as many dilemmas when you don’t have to check in with anybody. You can make choices independently without worrying about them affecting your significant other.
9. You are free to do what you want and be who you want.
The best part of being single is all the freedom you get to have.
Feel like changing some part of yourself? No one is there to remind you of the person you were and pull you back. You can be anyone you want, and you can do anything you want.
Are you taking a dance class, going out drinking with friends, or getting your belly button pierced? You can do all these things and more without having to ask for anyone’s permission.
You don’t need to fit into someone else’s schedule either. When you’re single, you’re your own boss, and you decide what you’re going to do. Some people actually prefer to be single because of this.
10. You don’t have to do the things you don’t feel like doing.
Let’s face it, when you’re in a relationship with someone, you do have to put them first sometimes. This means doing things that you don’t particularly like doing, or doing things at a time that doesn’t fit your mood.
Let’s take visiting their family or meeting up with their friends for example. You might not mind these things, but you don’t exactly jump at the chance to do them either. You do them because you care about your partner and know that you have to make sacrifices sometimes.
Sometimes you find it easy, but other times it’s hard to muster any kind of enthusiasm. It’s just not the right time and you’re not in the right mindset, but you make yourself do the things because you know it’s the right thing to do.
When you’re single, you don’t have to do something or go somewhere if you’re not really feeling it. You can just stay in bed and binge-watch your favorite shows if you want to.
You don’t have to worry about hurting your partner’s feeling by either saying you don’t want to do something or doing it and not enjoying it.
11. You can flirt with anyone you want.
Flirting with other people is a big no-no when you’re in a committed relationship. But when you’re single, you can engage in a little innocent flirting, or even take it further if you want to.
No one will cause any jealous scenes if you smile at the cute delivery boy or check out a pretty waitress. You’re not cheating on anyone if you decide to kiss a stranger at a bar. No one’s feelings will get hurt if you flirt with a coworker (assuming they are single!).
Flirting is exciting, flirting is fun, and flirting freely is a big benefit of being single.
And, hey, if you’re down for a bit of casual fun, you can take that route when you’re single. Obviously that’s off-limits in all but open relationships.
12. You can focus on your career.
We’re not saying that you can’t have a great career and progress up the ladder whilst in a relationship, but for young people especially, being single provides the opportunity to spend more of your time and energy achieving career goals.
Always take plenty of breaks and practice self-care to avoid burnout, but if you want to throw yourself into your work, you can go for it.
What’s more, if you need to relocate in order to get a promotion or land your dream job, you don’t have to worry about how that will affect your relationship. You can pack up your things and move more freely and easily.
You also have more time to learn new things, improve existing skills, and pursue hobbies that might pay off. Being single is better when you are able to pursue your passions and advance in your professional or personal life.
13. You have the entire bed to yourself.
It might not be the most important reason why being single is better but let’s not underestimate the comfort of having the entire bed to yourself.
There’s no one to snore, hog the covers, poke you, or push you off the bed. You can have all the blankets and sleep in soothing silence in a comfortable position.
The bed can also look however you like. If you don’t like fluffy pillows, then don’t have any. If you love fluffy pillows, you can cover your bed with them.
This freedom to decorate applies to other areas as well. Even if you don’t live alone, you probably have the freedom to make your room look however you like.
14. You can watch whatever you want.
How often have you watched movies that you didn’t want to watch when you were in a relationship? And it’s not just movies – it could be shows, cartoons, plays, or anything else on TV.
As a single person, you’re in charge of the remote, and you get to pick the movie you’ll see! If you’d like to watch the game, no one will make you watch a chick flick instead. If you’d like to enjoy the click flick with wine or ice cream, no one will complain about it the entire time.
This might not seem like a big deal, but we underestimate the benefit of being able to watch whatever we want.
Sure, it can be fun to watch a movie with a partner, but there’s plenty of time for that when you’re in a relationship. You can grab something to eat while you watch whatever you want. What to eat? You’ve guessed it – whatever you want. That’s freedom.
15. You can travel anywhere you’d like.
Deciding where to travel is something that requires negotiations and compromises when you’re part of a couple. After all, you probably want to visit different places and do different things.
When you’re single, you can go wherever you want.
This doesn’t just apply to restaurants and bars. You could travel anywhere you’d like, and you could stay there for as long as you please.
Traveling with a partner can be great, but it also means taking two people’s wishes and needs into consideration. And finding the middle ground can sometimes lead to resentment.
And what if you want to stay for several weeks but your partner’s job means they can only travel for one week at a time a few times a year?
To truly experience the freedom that the single lifestyle has to offer, use the ability to travel wherever you’d like!
Don’t settle for mediocre.
So there you have it, some of the top reasons why being single is better. But let’s be honest, “better” doesn’t have to mean permanently better. Perhaps it’s better for you right now based on your lifestyle, your wishes, and the stage of life you are in.
Being single is better than being in a bad relationship. Being single is also better than trying to force a relationship.
Being single is better for as long as it makes sense to you. For some people, being single is a permanent choice. For others, it’s a choice they may make now but change their mind about later.
Whatever the case for you, enjoy being single whilst it works for you.
