Why us singles should stop hating on Valentine’s Day

Is it weird that I’m single and not hating on the upcoming prospect of Valentine’s Day? Perhaps I’m just a hopeless romantic or maybe I’m just enjoying being single too much.

Delving deeper here are a few reasons us singles should stop hating on Valentine’s Day:

#1 We don’t have to impress anyone
When I look back on Valentine’s Days spent during my previous relationship, if anything, it was quite a stressful time. All the hype and pressure around having to do something romantic… shouldn’t that just happen year round?

#2 Likelihood of getting disappointed… nothing, nada, niente
Being single means that you don’t have to worry about getting disappointed. One year my boyfriend and I agreed we weren’t going to treat this “commercialised day” like anything special. But when Valentine’s Day arrived and there wasn’t a nice dinner, cute message or flowers I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Whilst other couples are busy comparing presents, extravagant gestures or number of roses – you can simply sit back and relax; we singles need not hold any expectations.

#3 No chance of fighting with your significant other
I’m sorry but how many people do you know have broken around Valentine’s Day? If your relationship is already on the rocks, like my previous one was, the day seems to bring to the surface all the issues and annoyances you are having.

#4 Likelihood of being pleasantly surprised… increases
When you’re single on Valentine’s Day the chances of you being disappointed significantly decreases, and the chances of you being pleasantly surprised increases. After all you’re on the market aren’t you? Who knows there just could be roses from a secret admirer you didn’t know about… that, or one of your girlfriends decides to express her friendship.

So next Friday instead of being single and hating on Valentine’s Day be happy for the couples that are genuinely smitten, and appreciate the fact that you’re not stressing about giving or receiving forced romantic gestures.

Why you shouldn’t be friends with your ex

Admittedly after a 6 month cooling off period I figured it might be okay to have dinner with my ex.

He had been requesting to catch up as friends for a while and given we had been together for eight years we certainly shared a special friendship,  so I figured no harm done – particularly in a public setting.

Long story short after a catching up I quickly realised you actually can’t be friends with your ex. Particularly if you or him haven’t moved on yet….

Reasons not to be friends with your ex:

#1 You don’t give each other an opportunity to fully move on.

#2 Whilst he had the last xxx (in my case 8 years) you made the decision not to give him the rest, so stick to that decision.

#3 You put yourself in a vulnerable place of self-doubt. The single confident you, suddenly shrivels up and dies, and all the effort you made to move on dissipates.

#4 You quickly realise why you broke up in the first place, and all of a sudden you are freakin annoyed at him. Annoyed feelings that you left behind are now once again back. Grrrr

#5 You focus attention on your past instead of your present and future.

I’m sure many would disagree (those with children particularly may have to take this with a grain of salt). But meh…. this is my current attitude towards mine and for now I’m sticking by it.