You know the feeling. Everyone around you seems to be getting hitched, and you start to feel as though it’s time you go the same route.
That said, if you’re not that inclined to get married anytime soon, there’s nothing you need to worry about. In truth, there are plenty of valid reasons why you may decide you don’t want to get married just yet.
Such as. . .
Reaching Goals
The nature of any relationship involves sacrifice. When you’re committed to another person, you need to consider their desires when you make any major life decision.
If you’re single, though, you can continue to enjoy the freedom that is necessary when you’re still striving towards your own personal goals. Some people place marriage high on the list of life priorities, but if you’re more likely to list it below your career aspirations, it’s a good idea to put it off for the time being.
Getting Healthy
It’s a sad fact, but it seems pretty evident: Rates of mental health issues, such as depression, are rising.
Thankfully, these conditions are certainly treatable, so you shouldn’t worry about the long-term effects your mental health may have on your love life. In the meantime, though, anyone who has tried to make a relationship last while suffering from depression understands that it’s a struggle.
As such, you may want to work on getting yourself healthy first, then focus on finding a partner with whom you would like to settle down.
Exploring Options
While your “traditional” relatives may frown onat this idea, it should be acknowledged that we live in an age where you won’t be shunned for sleeping around, so long as every sexual encounter you have is safe and consensual.
Obviously, you can’t do this if you’re married. Commitment, however, may simply be less appealing to you right now than having a little bit of fun. There’s no shame in enjoying yourself for a few years before you find the one person who’s right for you.
Saving Time and Money
Weddings cost money, and they involve planning. Most people who get married end up investing a lot of their time and finances into the endeavor.
Maybe, at this point in your life, you’re not willing to make that investment. That’s entirely understandable. When you feel as though getting married is important enough to you that you’ll want to put in the effort necessary to have a wedding, you’ll do so. In the meantime, focus on the priorities that are important to you.
Taking The Long View
As many a stand-up comedian has already pointed out, marriage made much more sense a century or so ago, when most of us were dead before the age when most of us will now have a midlife crisis.
In truth, while marriage is a beautiful, lifelong commitment to someone, it’s also a life sentence. You have to look at it both ways to truly appreciate what you’re getting into. So, maybe you want to put off marriage because you simply realize that you’re likely to live a long life, and don’t know whether you could truly commit to someone for that long. As trivial as it sounds, it makes sense: You may not want to marry someone until you hit a point where “the rest of your life” isn’t quite so intimidating.
That’s actually a very smart reason to stay single for a while.
Being Sure
The people in your life who are getting married are doing so because they are sure they have found their soulmate.
But you don’t have to be. A key skill to have if you want to be successful in any area of life is the ability to be honest with yourself; and, well, maybe you couldn’t honestly claim that you’d be happy spending the rest of your life with someone right now.
Instead of rushing into this major commitment, you should instead take the time to figure out what it is you truly want. That’s far more important than simply getting married because your friends are.
