Life

7 Things You Appreciate More When You're Single

by Kaitlyn Wylde

Once you fully immerse yourself into your single life and stop seeing it as a condition or a curse, you'll start to enjoy yourself — no seriously, you'll start having a lot of fun by yourself. Not only does being single clear up your responsibilities, but it puts a much needed spotlight on you. It subtly encourages you to be the best version of yourself by taking the time to nurture your heart and soul and find happiness without the help of anyone else.

The more comfortable you become with your single status, the more powerful you'll become. You'll start to feel like you don't need anyone, because you won't. Which is exactly the right kind of attitude to have when you are looking for a relationship. They should never come from a place of desperation. Society will try to tell you that the time you spend single should be time spent working on your flaws, because clearly you're flawed and that's why you're single! But how about this perspective instead: the time you spend being single should be spent appreciating how freaking awesome you are, without relying on compliments or validation from a partner. Here are seven things you'll learn to appreciate about yourself when you're single (and will hopefully take with you if you chose to enter a relationship):

Your Company

After you spend some time getting used to being single, you start to get a better idea of what you bring to the table. What your interests are, what your strengths and weaknesses are. With all your focus directed inward, you start to use the data you collect from spending time with friends and co-workers and build an image of yourself as an individual. Not just how your partners have seen you. You start to realize you enjoy your own company, which is very necessary if you ever expect anyone else to.

Your System

When you're on your own, you have an unbreakable system in place. You learn to appreciate the little routines you have in place, whether it's the way you wash your dishes, the way you sleep, the way you spend your Saturday mornings, or the way you eat. You'll love how efficient you've become — you're like, really good at life.

Your Space

You can keep your space however you like it when your single. Want to push your bed into the kitchen? Go for it. Eat dinner in the tub? Whatever. You will love having your own space to do whatever you please. Just like a goldfish from a tank to a pond, your awesomeness will grow when you give it the space to.

Your Clock

Want to go to bed at 8 p.m.? Fine. Want to wake up at noon? Whatever. Want to eat breakfast at 4 p.m.? Do your thang. When you're single you can exist on whatever time zone you please.

Your Freedom

When you're single you'll grow to be obsessed with your freedom. If you want to quit your job and move to Moldova for a year, you can. If you want to spend the weekend with your phone off, no one's going to be offended. Knowing that you can take whatever adventure might come your way will make you feel high with power and possibility.

Your Body

When you're in relationship, it sometimes feels like everything you know about your body is as it pertains to your partner. How it reacts to their body, how it moves around their form, how it looks to them, how it feels to them. When you're single you'll get to know your body for you. There's nothing like getting dressed up in sexy underwear for yourself. Not everything that you do with your body should be to impress a potential partner. Impress yourself.

Your Taste

When you're single you get to spend time developing your tastes. You can eat whatever you want, when you're only cooking for one. You can watch whatever you want and listen to whatever your heart desires. You don't have to worry whether or not someone else shares your tastes.

Images: Giphy, HBO