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10 tips for singles on how to be happy alone

A great way to distract yourself from the fact that you haven’t met your soulmate just yet is to spend some time learning something new.

Single black woman

When you’re in your twenties and your friends are staying in with their beaus while you just want to party, it can get frustrating.

And don’t get me started on being single into your thirties when your friends are getting married and settling down with their soul mates. Yuck.

Some of us, of course, are happy being single. We enjoy our own company and being single gives us more time to focus on our passions and careers. If you’ve decided that the single life is for you but you’d like a few tips on how to enjoy it a bit more, here are 10 tips for singles on how to be happy alone.

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Stay Sober

Getting messy drunk is not always a good idea when you’re single. It often means that your emotions come out during the night, and it also means that you have to spend the next day hungover all by yourself. At this point, it’s really easy to wallow in your self-pity and wonder why nobody loves you.

Staying sober as much as possible is recommended when you’re single and trying to be happy alone. It will stop you from downing a bottle of wine and opening your heart up to yourself, and it will make you much happier in the long run.

Don’t Become Cynical

It can be easy to become cynical when you’re single and your friends are all in relationships.

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Instead of liking your friend’s statuses on Facebook, perhaps you’ll purposely say nothing.

Instead of complimenting your friend’s on their engagement, perhaps you’ll pretend you missed the announcement.

And instead of saying “He’s great for you!” perhaps you’ll snipe that he’s “Okay” but “I always thought you’d end up with a richer guy.”

Being cynical about your friend’s and their success will just make you feel worse. Instead, you should be happy for them because this positivity will make you feel a whole lot better about yourself.

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Study!

You could go to night school, study online, or you could even go back to university.

Find something you’re passionate about and which you’ve been wanting to study for years and just go for it. You’ll never have as much free time as this to expand your mind!

Start Afresh

People in relationships can’t start afresh. They have to think about mortgages, cars, pensions, children and so on.

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You, however, can reinvent yourself as often as you want.

Make a list of new places you want to explore, books you want to read, jobs you want to try, skills you want to learn, towns you want to move to. Maybe you even want to move abroad for a few months.

Meet New People

When I tell my friends that I’d like to meet new people, they always assume that I have romantic motives. But you don’t have to meet new people for romantic reasons all the time.

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Meeting new people enlarges your social circle, and it might help you to connect with like-minded people who have not yet settled down with a mortgage and kids.

Moreover, maybe you have a passion such as film making and want to meet people with similar interests who you could work with on a future project.

Work Late

It’s hard to work late and earn extra cash when you’re in a relationship because your partner understandably wants you at home with them.

But sometimes you might actually enjoy working late. Perhaps you really enjoy your job, or perhaps you just want to earn some more money.

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Now that you’re single, you can work late as often as you want without anyone phoning you up to ask why you’re not home yet.

Exercise

They say that people who are in relationships are confident and that people who are single have low esteem. But this certainly doesn’t always have to be the case. If you are feeling a bit low recently, a great way to build your confidence back up is to do some exercise.

Regular work-out sessions enhance your looks, get you fit and healthy and improve your body image. So you’re single, but who cares? You look awesome!

Be Grateful

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When I was single for over two years in my mid-twenties, I started to feel really low. All my friends had partners and some were married. I had come to believe that we’re not complete unless we’re with someone.

But then I got some great advice: Be grateful for what you have.

I started to shift focus to the good things I had in life. I had my health, my career, my passions, my friends and my youth. I had so much to live for!

Each time you go to bed at night, be thankful for what you have.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Making Mistakes

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Everyone makes mistakes, and now that you’re single you’re not really accountable to anyone. You’ve got the freedom to live your life for YOU without any compromises.

Go out there and enjoy yourself. Screw up if you need to. Go on a bad date, quit your job and try something new. While you’re single, you can do whatever you like without having to worry about your partner and what they may think.

Be As Spontaneous As You Want

Remember that time you woke up one morning wanting to go out on a spontaneous road trip because it was the first day of spring? You were so excited and woke your man up at 6am to tell him to pack a bag.

Unfortunately, Mr Grumpy said he was tired and the Broncos were playing today. So, you had to stay at home and cook him pancakes instead.

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Now that you’re single, you can be as spontaneous as you like without anyone holding you back.

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