10 May 5 Ways to Stay Happily Single

- Janice Tang, Hong Kong

To all the single ladies out there, aren’t you tired of people, especially your relatives, asking if you are dating anyone? At first, the initial reaction would be “No. I am happy the way I am.” Why would people even dare to ask such silly question? We are independent, well thoughtful, and strong women who are more than capable of taking care of ourselves. But as questions keep surfacing wherever you go, you start to get a little annoyed by it. Then you start asking yourself, but wait, why am I single? Am I not good enough? Or you might start dwelling on the reasons why your last relationship ended. It almost becomes a vicious cycle of constant questioning, doubtfulness, and a loss of hope.

         In reality, hope never left. The key is to cherish the time of singularity before you are forced to deal with relationship issues again. In fact, being single is fun, free, and exciting. We have identified five ways to stay happily single.

1.    Learn to love yourself again. We often invest so much time in relationship, we think about what he wants to eat, what he wants to do, and sometimes his life consumes you. You eventually lose a sense of yourself in the relationship. Being single revere you to your purest form by simply focusing your time and effort in improving yourself. By doing so, you learn to fall in love with who you are and rediscover your inner beauty.
2.   Travel solo. Go out and discover the world in your own eyes. When you are out on your own, you learn to appreciate solitude. You become a lot more attentive to your feelings and emotions where self-reflection almost appear instantaneously, awareness to surroundings become sharper, openness to strangers, environment and even wildlife become more engaging. Life becomes finer and simpler. This may all sound philosophical until you try it yourself.

3.    Rediscover your passion and work hard to get better at it. Relationship is an investment on its own. It takes a lot of effort to start, maintain, and prolong a lasting relationship. Similarly, singularity can also be an investment by investing in yourself. Think about your past interests that you have left behind and find ways to integrate your interests into your daily life again. It could be a sport you have played in high school that you can revisit by joining an intramural. Rediscover yourself by engaging in your passion.
4.   Meditate. Take 5 to 10 minutes each day to sit silently and focus your mind, soul and body solely on breathing. It helps to clear distractions, worries, and stress clustering your mind and concentrate on your inner self.

Just relax. Everything happens for a reason. In hindsight, you will understand why things happened the way it did. For now, embrace every moment and strengthen your identity by understanding yourself better and loving who you are. And that is a simple four-step recipe of staying happily single.