Being Married Isn’t The Key To Happiness — Being Single Is

We always hear about how marriage is so good for our health and happiness, yet we forget that there are many people out there in unhappy marriages. If you’re single AF and don’t see yourself walking down the aisle anytime soon, you might be better off than your married friends. Here’s why:

1. You’ll have less to lose. Your life is full and beautiful, but guess what? It depends on you alone and no one can take it away from you. Your life’s not going to wake up one morning and tell you he wants to leave and he’s taking the dog as well as your favorite sofa. Being single means that you have less to lose because you’re not sharing it with a romantic partner, and anything you do own is completely yours.
2. You’ll get more things done. Single people have a greater sense of determination, research has found. So while your friends are building happy marriages, you can build an empire instead. What’s not to love?
3. You’ll be physically healthier — and hotter. If you don’t have a husband and kids aren’t on the cards, there might be some benefits. Australian research that monitored women in their 70s found that single women who’d never had kids had experienced the least amount of serious illnesses as well as the healthiest body mass index.
4. You don’t need marriage as much as single men. Research has found that single women don’t experience the same negative health effects from not getting married as single men do. Middle-aged women who never married actually have the same chance of getting health conditions such as high blood pressure as married women, not more. Interestingly, however, older single women have a lower chance of heart problems than unmarried single men. Health is happiness and as a single woman, you’re likely to reap the rewards.
5. You’ll have an easy way out. Lots of marriages fail, but what about the people who stay together for the kids or because the thought of divorce is so frightening? As a single woman, you don’t have to make such compromises. Plus, it’s easier to exit an unhappy relationship without having to worry about going through an expensive and hostile divorce.
6. A husband can’t make you happy. You might think that you need to find your special someone or soulmate to be truly happy, but that’s BS. Just because you get married, it doesn’t mean you’ll be happy. Happiness is an inside job — you’re in charge of your own fulfillment.
7. More people than ever before are unhappily married. Research has found that married women are no longer as happy as they used to be. In 2014, only 54 percent of married women claimed to be happy, compared to 65 percent in 2012. What’s happening? One of the reasons experts cite for this is that women end up having to deal with a lot of domestic responsibility, much more than men. Who needs that crap?
8. You can be true to yourself. Remaining single means that you grow and learn more about yourself. You can do whatever you need to do to be fulfilled, whether that means jumping on a plane to Thailand or changing your career. Being married often means that you have to take your partner’s opinions and thoughts into account, which can sometimes be limiting. You can’t always do what you want because you have him to consider.
9. There’s no reason to be lonely. It’s such BS to think that forever single women are lonely. The truth is that being single in the long-term means that you’re more likely to have stronger relationships with other people, such as your family members or friends. And, you’ll get the same support, loyalty and connections from them that you’d get from a partner (if not more).
10. If you’re happy, only good things can happen. If you’re happy about being single, then honestly nothing’s stopping you from leading a happy and full life. Sure, you might experience doubts or fears as you grow older, but married women will have doubts and fears of their own. The key is to stick to what makes you happy, and many women are choosing to remain single because it feels so right. A 2006 survey of singles found that 55 percent of people who’d never been married had no interest in finding a romantic partner. Yup, life is good.
11. You only have to worry about yourself. How liberating it is to know that you’re the only one you really have to worry about! You don’t have your husband’s problems or drama to deal with. You can give all your resources to yourself, such as your money, time, energy and love.
12. You can focus on an amazing life instead of an amazing man. Instead of being so obsessed with finding the perfect man, when you choose to remain single you focus on living the best damn life that you can. You work on yourself, become the person you’ve always wanted to be, achieve your dreams, create a financially-thriving career, have amazing friendships and can do anything your heart desires because you’re not tied down. You’re living life 100 percent and won’t settle for anything less.