In a world that glorifies “couple goals”, you might feel uncomfortable or lonely being single. Over at VICE, their advice columnist asked experts for tips for actually enjoying it – and this tip was the best:

”It’s a naff word but a journey of self-discovery is a great and powerful opportunity,” says life coach Katie Scrafton. That’s likely the main step to feeling better in this instance: Self-discovery. Remembering who you are, and getting back into loving yourself, independent of other people. 

Learning to enjoy single life isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Not to be too deep, but we can’t predict what’ll happen around us – people come and go, relationships and friendships fizzle out, sometimes people come back around, other times they don’t. We can’t really control it. What’s guaranteed is, you’re stuck with silly old fucking you, so you might as well do your best to enjoy your own company.

Scrafton says to make a list “of things that you really love to do, or haven’t done but feel you might enjoy”. She’ll often use “the marker of: when do I not check my phone?”  The idea is you’ll end up with a list of things to experience that’ll reconnect you to yourself. Include “guilty pleasures” or those activities you’ve always pondered but perhaps been a little too nervous to actually try. Anyway, if it feels proper cringe to mention your hobby to anyone, you can always keep it to yourself initially. 

We love this idea. Finding things that make truly YOU happy, and then deep diving into those things solo – that’s how you truly make the most of #TheSingleLife. Of course, being single doesn’t mean you can’t spend a little one-on-one time with other singles – that’s what casual dating is all about! Join us on the new OBC app for Android and start seeking out something fun!