Ways Our Idea Of Happiness Changes If We’re Single For Long Enough

Being single long-term isn’t something we should complain about. All of that time alone is good for us. The longer we’re unattached, the more we’ll learn about what makes us truly happy. In fact, here are a few ways our idea of happiness changes if we’ve been single for long enough:

  1. We don’t need a man to be happy. Once upon a time, we thought that a man’s attention was all we needed to be happy. Of course, we’ve grown since then, which is why we understand that happiness requires a lot more than just a hand to hold.
  2. We enjoy the little things. We’d rather get a sweet text from a nice guy than sleep with a tool. We value quality over quantity, which is why something small can make us beyond happy.
  3. We take flirting for what it is. We’ve been single for so long that we don’t expect prolonged eye contact to turn into a full-blown relationship. We’re happy with the eye contact itself, even if it never develops into something more serious.
  4. We’re content with “replacement” boyfriends. We don’t need to be in a relationship to do fun couple activities. We’re perfectly happy when our friends agree to go to brunch with us and when our dog stays still for long enough to cuddle us in bed.
  5. We’re happy when we’re healthy. Since we’re unattached, we don’t have to waste time worrying about whether a boy texts us back or apologizes for coming home late. We can focus on more important things, like if our bodies and minds are in good shape.
  6. We’ve mastered masturbation. We haven’t been with a man in a while, so we’ve had plenty of time to brush up on our solo skills. Masturbating is an easy way to put us in a good mood, because we know exactly how we like to be touched–and we probably make ourselves orgasm harder than any man could.
  7. It takes more to make us happy. Yes, we value the little things, but a man has to be absolutely amazing in order for us to actually think about dating him. After all, we’ve been single for a long time, so what’s another few years?
  8. Our career is our one true love. Since we haven’t been focusing on boys, we’ve had plenty of time to focus on our career. Whenever we get a raise, it’s as rewarding as getting engaged would be.
  9. We want others to be happy. We’re used to being single, so we don’t mind when our friends get into long-term relationships. In fact, we’re happy for them, because we want them to live a life they love.
  10. We can make ourselves happy. Without a man in the picture, we’ve had plenty of time to get to know ourselves. That’s why it’s easy for us to see that we don’t need another half. We’re already whole.
Holly Riordan is a writer from Long Island, New York who has authored several science fiction and horror books. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she has spent nearly a decade writing for publications including Thought Catalog, Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, and more. You can find her on Instagram @hollyrio and Twitter @hollyyrio.
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