Staying single for too long leads to established routines that become a major part of who you are and how you go about your day.

Everything from how your closet is arranged to where you put specific items in your fridge is already a part of your everyday routine.

Even the temperature you keep your apartment at has already been long since established.

The tasks you do outside of the home are preset.

Whether it be where you go to get your morning coffee, the route you take to get to work, where you go grocery shopping, or what set time you get to the gym.

An established routine that you are used to and rely on.

When you stay single for too long, you can develop a fierce sense of independence.

So much that you might struggle to accommodate someone new in your life.

All of a sudden, you are having to compromise in areas that you haven’t had to for the longest time.

Now, you are making concessions to your daily routine outside of the home and within.

Outside of the home, as you are ordering your favorite latte at your favorite coffee shop, you are now considering what your new partner wants and having to make an order for two.

Inside the home, you are having to adjust the temperature to one he can handle so that he is comfortable when he is hanging out with you or spending the night.

Initially, given your fierce sense of independence, there is a frustration that accompanies having to make these accommodations.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long for you to realize that there is only so much a daily routine can do for you.

It doesn’t keep you company at night, holding you close as you fall asleep, nor make love to you.

It doesn’t get up in the middle of the night to protect you, as it makes sure that noise that you both heard in the kitchen wasn’t an intruder.

A partner brings benefits that a single life is devoid of.

Your ability to accommodate a new lover in your life boils down to whether the benefits a new partner brings into your life outweigh the new sacrifices and accommodations you would have to make for said partner.

Should the benefits a new partner brings into your life outweigh the sacrifices and accommodations you would have to make, this eases the path of acceptance.

Remember that even though you have valued and enjoyed your fierce independence and freedom while being single, there remain areas that are lacking.

These are areas that you are repeatedly reminded of when you are enjoying a latte at your favorite coffee shop and see a couple sitting across from you enjoying each other’s company and laughing.

You see how fond they are of each other, and in that moment, you long for what they have.

Companionship.

You have felt the same way whenever you have walked your dog on a familiar trail and walked past a happy couple walking their own dog who politely greeted you.

You thought of them as a cute little family.

A man, who is Daddy.

A woman, who is Mommy.

And the dog, who is the child.

You wonder what it would be like to have a man alongside you as you are walking your dog.

Mommy, Daddy, and Dog child.

These moments have happened frequently in your life, but you always brush them off by focusing on something else so that you don’t allow yourself to get too lonely.

But what this means is that deep down you do want a companion.

Although staying single for too long can make you develop a fierce sense of independence, don’t lie to yourself about your desire for companionship.

As long as those moments of longing occur, there is a part of you that wants companionship.

You just have to figure out whether the benefits that come with companionship outweigh the significant independence that comes with being single for too long.