You find yourself in the midst of a never-ending spiral of relationships, it’s gotten to the point where you have trouble distinguishing your own identity with that of your former or even current lovers, and you can’t even remember the last time you were single for longer than a month. Perhaps it’s time to take a break from your serial dating habits for some much needed introspection and self-discovery.
Taking time away from dating can have numerous benefits, including learning from your own dating history. When you’re taking some alone time, it’s important to review your past, especially your dating past, and see if there are any reoccurring patterns. Perhaps you’re the kind of person that doesn’t commit to a relationship, or maybe you’re too dependent when you’re in a relationship. Perhaps you’re the fixer—always trying to change the other person, or the opposite—a chameleon—always trying to be like your significant other. Maybe it’s more subtle than that, maybe there’s a pattern in the kinds of people you are dating. Whatever it could be, figuring out if you do have any patterns is vital in order to truly understand yourself.
It’s also important to examine your relationships and see how they made you feel; were you satisfied and content with the situation at the time? Why or why not? Introspecting could offer you invaluable knowledge of personal habits that you may not have even been aware of.
Aside from investigating your dating past, this time would be well spent if you decided to do something that you’ve been putting off for a while. It could be anything from traveling, a career switch, moving to another area, going back to school or even picking up a new hobby. Maybe you’ve been so preoccupied with former relationships and jobs, but now would be an ideal time to do that thing you’ve been yearning to try.
Focusing on yourself is the perfect opportunity to restructure your identity if you feel like you’ve been lost in the whirlwind of your past relationships. Rediscovering your own identity and examining your past could be just the tool you need to not only feel more content and at one with yourself, it could be the key to finding a successful relationship, when you’re ready for it.
Originally published on BounceBack.com
