Being single in a sea of couples is pretty much the worst. You try not to be a green-eyed monster about the whole thing but you can’t help but feel sorry for yourself and wonder why you have such bad luck. But what if you have no reason to feel like you should have what your friends do? Here are 11 reasons to never be jealous of friends in relationships. Believe me, they don’t have it that good.
- Everyone’s relationship is super unique. From the outside looking in, it can be tough to know what a love story actually looks like day in, day out. If you think that your friend has a perfect relationship, the truth is that it might not be that easy. Instead of feeling jealous, remember that you don’t have a clue what battles people are fighting behind closed doors.
- You might not want to date your friend’s boyfriend. You know how you meet a friend’s new BF at a party and wonder what she sees in him? You might feel immediately guilty for being so harsh, but hey, you’re not attracted to everyone. You might not actually want to date this guy. Maybe you don’t think he’s cute or you don’t like that he works evenings and weekends. Why be jealous when you wouldn’t be interested in the first place?
- Your friends put up with crap that you wouldn’t. When your friends ask you for advice about their love life, they don’t always listen to your advice. Actually, they never do. They just keep dating the guy because that’s what they want to do. Why would you feel lousy about the fact that you don’t have a boyfriend of your own when you would never allow yourself to be treated the way that your friends do? There’s really nothing to be envious of.
- You’re on your own journey. Remember this when you’re feeling jealous of friends in relationships. People say that comparison is the thief of joy and that’s truest when it comes to relationships. It’s easy to feel like you’ve been single for two years so you deserve a boyfriend. It’s not a competition, no matter how much it might feel like it sometimes. It’s a good idea to stop seeing it that way.
- You know that people stay in a comfortable relationship. Female friendships are complicated AF. When you’ve been friends with someone for a while, you see the ups and downs of their lives, and you know when they should dump the guy that they’re currently seeing. But if they’re comfortable, they’re scared to break up with their boyfriend, and that’s that. Swap the jealousy for happiness so that you can walk away when something isn’t right for you.
- It doesn’t mean that you can’t meet someone great. Just because your friends seem to find boyfriends as if they are growing on trees doesn’t mean that you’re not about to meet the love of your life. Someone else’s success doesn’t have anything to do with your own. It can be tough to remember that in this social media world, but it’s honestly true.
- You want them to be happy for you. If you’re truly annoyed about the fact that your friends are in relationships and you’re not, they’re going to be able to tell. And they won’t love that. You want them to be happy for you when you do meet someone, so you might as well return the favor, otherwise, you’re basically a crappy friend.
- Your friends are probably jealous of you. Sure, you might not have a serious boyfriend, but you have some other great things going on. Your friends are definitely envious of your great career, your work ethic, your healthy lifestyle, or your positive attitude. That makes you feel a lot better about being single, doesn’t it?
- Jealously isn’t a productive emotion. Wanting what someone else has is a pretty negative reaction. It makes you feel stuck in life and like you have no idea how to change things. So when you think of it like that, there’s really no point in indulging in your jealous feelings. There are so many other things that you should be doing with your time.
- You should be grateful for your own life. Every time your friends complain about the crappy things that their boyfriends say or do, you can smile politely and be secretly happy that you’re not in that situation. It’s a much more positive way to approach this instead of feeling bad about not having someone to call your own. Stop the jealousy and start appreciating everything that you have.
- You are cool the way that you are. This is a tough thing to realize. You want it all and you want it all right now, from the serious boyfriend to the dream job to the happy life, but you’re okay the way that you are. Once you realize that, jealousy will be a thing of the past because you’ll be way too busy focusing on your awesome future. There’s no reason to be jealous of friends in relationships because one day you’ll be in your own. It’ll be right and it’ll be great.
