5 Things Gen X Loves About Being Alone That Gen Z Can Learn From
When you're young, romantic love feels like the most important thing there is.
Rido | Canva Learning how to be happy alone when you're single can be tough. When you're young, it's easy to believe that romantic love is the only way to be happy. As many of us who are members of Generation X have learned the hard way, being single can be beautiful. In fact, there are many things Gen X loves about being alone that Gen Z can learn from!
A client of mine asked me, "Can you be happy being alone?"
I asked her, "What do you think?"
After about 5 seconds of thought, she responded, "Heck, yes!" Being single has led her to a happy life. She realized that happiness is within your grasp if you just know where to look.
Five things Gen X has learned about being alone that Gen Z can learn from
1. You only have to take care of yourself
One of the best parts about being alone is the only person you have to take care of is you.
For years, when I lived by myself, I had a lot of extra time in my day because I was only cooking (or not!), cleaning, and planning for myself. Now that I am with someone else, I spend a good portion of my day taking care of him and his needs. I love him and don’t mind doing this, but I must admit some days, I wish I didn’t have to.
Imagine if your every day was full of doing only what you wanted to do, taking care of only yourself, cooking (or not), watching whatever TV you want to watch, going to bed on your schedule, and not picking up anyone else’s clothes.
How amazing would it feel?
2. You don’t have to compromise
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Now, don’t get me wrong. The willingness to compromise is important in every relationship. However, in some relationships, we can sometimes compromise too much, as explored by a study in the Personality and Individual Differences Journal.
When my client was married, she lived her life for what her husband wanted and needed. He wanted her to quit a job she loved, so she did. He wanted to move to another town, even though she loved their current house, but she agreed nonetheless.
He insisted they have dinner with his family on Sundays, even though her family was around on Sunday nights as well.
Don’t get me wrong, her ex compromised, too, I am sure, but she had to bend over backward most days to make him happy.
Imagine not having to negotiate with someone else about something you want or don’t want to do. Living your own life on your terms.
How amazing would it be?
3. You won’t suffer those daily little hurts
One of the hardest things about relationships, both good and bad ones, is what I call the 1000 little cuts, those little tiny cuts occur throughout a relationship, undermine the strength of the relationship, and, sometimes, lead to its collapse.
What kind of little cuts?
Not coming home on time, leaving underwear on the floor, lying about how much beer you had with your buddies, spending more money at the dress shop than planned, farting without apologizing, not walking the dog at the right time, slurping your coffee, snoring — you get the picture.
One of the nice things about being alone is you aren’t subjected to those little daily pains, the ones that make you feel so bad about yourself and so bad about your relationship.
When I was alone, I remember distinctly how much better I felt at the end of the day because no one had caused me pain. My dog was curled up next to me, and he only loved me. I felt pretty good about myself, I have to say.
"To be happy, you need to fall in love with yourself. That means intentionally focusing on self-care and bringing more joy to every day. Even if it seems hard, it doesn't have to be. Plus, the payoffs are high. With these essential yet straightforward strategies, you will learn to love yourself and your life a lot more," suggested career coach Lisa Petsinis.
4. You can get good love anywhere
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This is one point my client made about learning how to be happy alone that I hadn’t thought of before.
When you aren’t in a relationship, love is accessible anywhere. While romantic love is lovely, you can find love in both usual and unusual places.
First and foremost, you have steadfast and strong love from your friends and family. You know they will be there for you through thick and thin and you will always have someone to cry with, go to the movies with, or spend the holidays with. No matter what.
There are also other ways to find love. A big source of love is volunteering. There is nothing better than working with people or animals who need love and support to bring more love into your life.
When I was single, I volunteered at a food shelter once a week, and when I went home, I felt like a million bucks.
Another way to get unconditional love is with a pet. It might sound like a cliché, but it’s true. How many single women do you know who have a pet? They might call us crazy cat ladies, but the joke is on them because we are happy crazy cat ladies!
So, if you are single, you can get love in all sorts of places and, yes, you can be happy being alone.
5. You are free to be you
The most amazing part of learning how to be alone and being happy about it is you are free to be who you want to be.
Of course, being in a partnership can be wonderful. But, whether you are happy or not because you are part of a twosome, you are sometimes limited in your choices of who you can be in the world.
After my husband and I got divorced, I decided I was sick of living in the country. I sold my 3000-square-foot house in Vermont and moved to a 200-square-foot apartment in NYC. I started a life coach business, became a mental health advocate, and I no longer had to shovel snow because my doormen did it!
If you are alone, the sky is the limit for who you want to be in the world.
Yes, you can learn how to find happiness, even when you're single and alone.
In this modern world, being a part of a pair seems imperative, but more and more people are realizing it’s not. Being alone gives you options, you can be selfish and giving, your daily life can be happier, and you can be truly who you want to be.
My client was a housewife and a mother before she got divorced, and now she is an accountant and a stock trader. She owns her own house, has two amazing girls (and three grandchildren), and is happy as a clam.
She occasionally dates but then realizes, for her, it doesn’t make her feel good, so she stops and goes back to her very happy life!
You can be happy being alone, too. Truly.
Mitzi Bockmann is an NYC-based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate who works exclusively with women to help them be all they want to be. Mitzi's bylines have appeared in MSN, Prevention, Huffington Post, and Psych Central, among many others.