When you’ve been single for a while, you might start to wonder if it’s about time you got yourself into a relationship again. But first, you have to ask yourself if you’re really ready to date someone seriously. If any of these things apply to you, you’re better off living the single life a while longer until something changes:
- Your partying phase isn’t over. If your definition of Friday night fun means partying until dawn and the endless possibilities that come with it, then you might not be ready to get serious. Think long and hard about if you’re ready to sacrifice all that fun for cuddling on the couch with a boyfriend who’s too tired to walk. A dream or a nightmare? It’s your call.
- You still need to flirt like plants need water. All women, single or not, enjoy a little bit of innocent flirting here and there. But if you automatically go on flirt-mode as soon as a cute stranger appears, then you’re clearly not ready to focus all your energy on one guy just yet.
- You secretly pity women in relationships. When you see your friends or even strangers coupled up, you don’t feel jealous — you feel bad for them. Even if they seem perfectly happy, all you can think about is how much they’re sacrificing by committing to one person. If you’re having a hard time seeing how anyone could possibly want to be in a relationship, you’re definitely not ready to be in one yourself.
- You have some serious travel plans. You have amazing things going on in your life, and you are seriously keeping your options open about moving abroad for a while, or even forever. Spending time in another country is often best while you’re single… especially because of all the cute foreign guys you’re bound to meet.
- You’re busy all the time and loving it. Your calendar is full of plans with friends, career networking events, pilates workshops, photography seminars — whatever you can cram in there, really. You never stop moving, and even if you wanted a relationship, you probably wouldn’t have time for one.
- It took you about two days to move on from your last boyfriend. If you change guys like you change socks and have no serious regrets, there’s no point looking for a relationship. You just need to wait until that one guy appears that will shake up your world enough to make you want a real emotional commitment.
- You have a ton of guy friends. Whether they’re hookup buddies or truly platonic friends, having a lot of dudes in your social circle can satisfy your need for a bit of testosterone in your life. If you want to keep them around and avoid having a jealous boyfriend to contend with, you’re probably better staying single and avoiding that kind of drama.
- Your demanding job is your priority. If your career is extremely important to you and you’re not willing to compromise any of your vocational goals, then you should hold off on getting a boyfriend. A relationship requires a lot of time and energy, and it’s more than okay to hold off on jumping into one until things calm down at work.
- You feel pressure to settle down. If the main reason why you think you should be in a relationship is that everybody else is partnering up with someone, stop torturing yourself. Feeling left out is never a good reason to give up your freedom. You’ll find the right person one day, but until then, embrace being the single person of your group of friends.
- You think a relationship is the way to get more sex. Even though sex with someone you love can be truly amazing, don’t commit yourself to someone who doesn’t feel 100 percent right just to get laid on a regular basis. You can have consistent great sex with a guy without having to actually date him if you can both agree on being friends with benefits.
