3 Things to Do as a Single Person That Strengthen Future Relationships

I want to start today by asking a few questions. Do professional athletes wait until gametime to start practicing? Do doctors wait until they’re doing surgery to hone their skills?

Thankfully (especially on the latter), the answer to both questions is no. The time to practice your skills and prepare for ‘game time’ is not during the game, but it’s beforehand. I believe the same can be said about relationships too. Yes, you can start working on your relationship when you’re in it, but why not take advantage of the time you have when you’re single to make sure you’re ready to be the best partner you can be?

That’s what I want to look at today. I want to share a few ideas of things you can do as a single person that can help strengthen your future relationships.

Do you have to do these to have a successful relationship? Of course, not. However, I personally would highly advise putting in the work now because you will absolutely reap the benefits down the road.

Become comfortable with being single.

When you need a relationship, I don’t believe you’re ready for a relationship. When you want a relationship to complement your already fulfilled life, then I think you’re ready.

I know that may seem like a harsh statement, but I really believe it’s the truth. If you are expecting your partner to solve all your problems, make you happy, and make all your troubles go away…it ain’t gonna happen. And even if they are able to, the sustainability of that will be limited by the need to regulate your needs.

I don’t want to get too heavy into this, but my goal is to point you down a journey of learning. Find a way to be happy with being single. I’m not saying to go down the road of hating the idea of a relationships; I’m merely saying become content and happy with yourself.

Once you’re there, you will be more prepared for a future relationship than a huge chunk of society.

Learn about what makes a relationship successful like you’re a professional.

In addition to the inner work of being content and happy with yourself, you can also take the time to start learning the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in a future relationship. Read books, listen to podcasts, follow blogs (like ours), and absorb everything you can get your hands on.

Now, if you go out and search for books on being single and getting ready for a relationship, you’re probably not going to find much of anything. Instead, read books written for couples, follow people and organizations that promote happy marriages, and train your skills like you’re a professional.

Practice what you can practice in your other relationships.

Now, learning is one thing, but putting things into practice is another. But how can you practice being in a relationship without being in a relationship? Well, good news. You have TONS of other relationships that aren’t romantic in nature, but are still relationships. Many of the same skills that apply to healthy romantic relationships also apply to professional and platonic relationships.

What’s amazing about this is that not only will you be preparing for future romantic relationships, but your existing relationships are going to get better in the process!

I know this goes without saying, but I’m going to say it just in case. I am only referring to the non-intimate, non-romantic aspects of the relationships. I don’t want you out there trying to kiss and hold hands with your boss! But with things like trust building, honesty, communication, etc., these are all things that can be practiced in other relationships.

How much time and effort should I be putting into this?

To close, I want to answer something that may be on your mind. How much of your time and effort should you be dedicating to the process?

The answer is it’s up to you. For guardrails, I would say definitely don’t let this consume you so much where you aren’t living your life. But also, make sure you’re at least putting in enough time to make a difference.

If you aren’t content with being single, I would absolutely consider putting some sizeable time and effort into that as it would have the greatest impact on the overall quality of your life.

As for the learning and consuming content around healthy relationships, this is something you can deprioritize and still see fruit from it. It will all depend on how much you enjoy learning about these things and how much free time you have.