Thriving Solo

Category: Relationships

  • Being a Good Neighbour (When You Mostly Like to Be Left Alone)

    I live at the back of a courtyard. I have three sets of neighbours – two couples, one older lady who lives alone.

    We mostly ignore each other. Not in a bad way—we just live separate and distinct lives. If we happen to be in the courtyard or the driveway at the same time, we exchange a few friendly words. Other than that, we see each other, and we don’t need to interact.

    And honestly? That suits me fine.

    I don’t want to host street barbecues or get drawn into neighbourly drama. I like my space. I like not feeling obligated to make small talk just because I took the bins out at the same time as someone else. But at the same time, I want to be a good neighbour. I want to be someone who contributes to a sense of ease and quiet goodwill, not tension or suspicion.

    You don’t have to be sociable to be considerate. You don’t have to be friends to be friendly.

    The Quiet Art of Neighbourliness

    For those of us who enjoy solitude, neighbourliness isn’t about being outgoing. It’s about creating an atmosphere of mutual respect. A sense of “we don’t need to be in each other’s pockets, but we’ve got each other’s backs.”

    That can look like:

    • Giving a quick wave when you pass someone in the driveway.
    • Keeping your noise to a minimum (especially at night).
    • Not blocking shared spaces.
    • Offering a hand if you see someone struggling with shopping or furniture.
    • Returning packages that get left at your door by mistake.

    It’s not a social contract. It’s just shared decency.

    Knowing the Vibe

    One of the best things you can do as a neighbour is read the room—or in my case, the property.

    Are your neighbours chatty? Do they keep to themselves? Has anyone ever invited you to something, or is it more of a nod-and-carry-on place?

    You don’t need to match their energy, but it helps to understand it. That way, you’re not accidentally being standoffish, or—on the flip side—too familiar in a place that values boundaries.

    Small Gestures, Big Impact

    You don’t need to do anything grand. Just being the kind of neighbour who doesn’t cause problems is enough. But if you want to go a step further:

    • Shovel a bit of someone else’s driveway if you’re already out there.
    • Water their plants if they’re away (and you’re asked).
    • Let someone know if their car lights are on, or if there’s a parcel sitting exposed in the rain.

    In my case, my nearest neighbour and I will bring each other’s empty rubbish bins in. Whoever happens to go out and clear theirs first, they’ll also grab the other person’s, and drop it where it belongs. No stress, no commitment, just neighbourly good natured behaviour.

    None of these require commitment or ongoing involvement. They just show that you’re paying quiet attention—and that you care, even if you’re not looking to become best friends.

    Final Thoughts: Neighbourly Without Needy

    Living alone doesn’t mean isolating yourself from the world around you. It just means you get to choose how you engage.

    Being a good neighbour doesn’t require extroversion. It requires thoughtfulness, respect, and the willingness to look up from your own life every now and then to make someone else’s a little easier.

    You don’t have to be social to be part of a community. You just have to be kind.

  • Don’t You Get Lonely?

    It’s the question everyone asks when they find out you live alone. The assumption is always the same—if you’re on your own, you must be lonely.

    And sometimes, yeah. I am.

    But here’s the thing: loneliness isn’t always a problem to be solved. It’s a feeling, like any other. And like any other feeling, it doesn’t last forever.

    For me, loneliness is often a sign that I’m bored, or somehow dissatisfied with what I’m spending my time on. That I should get off my behind and go DO something. Sometimes that might be with other people, but more often than not, I’ll find something better to do by myself.

    We have this idea that being alone should be an unbroken stretch of contentment, productivity, and peace. That if you’re doing it “right,” you never feel lonely at all. But loneliness isn’t a sign that you’ve failed at living alone—it’s just part of the human experience.

    It’s a contrast. And this contrast makes my social time feel more meaningful.

    Loneliness Comes and Goes

    Living alone doesn’t mean you’re lonely all the time. Most of the time, it’s great. You get to do what you want, when you want, without answering to anyone. You can go entire days without making small talk. You control your space, your schedule, your whole life.

    But every once in a while, loneliness shows up—maybe on a quiet Sunday when there’s nothing planned, or after a long day when there’s no one to share it with. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your life. It just means you’re human.

    Some people fear loneliness so much that they try to fill every silence with noise, every empty space with people, every free moment with distraction. But being alone isn’t something that needs to be “fixed.” It’s something to live through, sit with, and accept.

    You Don’t Have to Fear the Quiet

    One of the biggest gifts of living alone is learning to be comfortable in your own company. Not every moment needs to be filled, and not every feeling needs to be changed. Sometimes, loneliness is just the background hum of a quiet evening, and that’s okay.

    When you stop treating loneliness as a problem, it loses its impact.  You start to recognise it for what it is—a passing moment, not a permanent state.

    I’m a words guy—words are how I shape my own world in so many ways. So, rather than “I’m lonely”, I reframe it to “I’m feeling lonely right now”. It’s not a huge shift in terms of language, but in terms of the weight of the feeling? For me, that shift is massive.

    It takes it from “I am…” to “I am experiencing…”. Something that I am is a HUGE thing. Something that I’m experiencing is transitory.

    There’s power in being able to sit with your own thoughts. In not needing to reach for your favourite distraction (phone) the second after silence creeps in.

    Loneliness is an experience, and you become more whole by allowing yourself to dwell in that experience when it occurs.

    Loneliness Is Part of the Deal—And That’s Not a Bad Thing

    No matter how full your life is, everyone feels lonely sometimes. Even people in relationships. Even people with big families and busy social lives.

    The difference is, when you live alone, you don’t get to ignore it. You don’t get to just make it go away by pulling other people into your life.

    And maybe that’s a good thing. Because when you face loneliness instead of running from it, you get stronger. You stop fearing time by yourself. You learn to be content with your own thoughts. You realise that being alone and being lonely aren’t the same thing.

    So yeah, sometimes I get lonely. But I wouldn’t trade the life I have—the space, the freedom, the self-sufficiency—for the illusion that being around people all the time would magically make that feeling disappear.

    Because it wouldn’t. And because I’ve learned something important:

    Loneliness isn’t the opposite of happiness. It’s just part of life.

  • Thriving Solo Isn’t a Waiting Room

    Solo living is often framed as a phase—something temporary, something you pass through on your way to a “real” life with a partner. But what if that’s not true? What if thriving solo is just as valid, just as fulfilling, as any other way of living? What if, for you, it’s even better?

    This isn’t about saying solo life is superior—it’s about recognizing that it might be better for you. It might be better for you forever, or just for now. Either way, the important thing is making the most of it, rather than treating it as a holding pattern while you wait for something else.

    The Myth of Solo Life as a Transition Phase

    From childhood, we’re conditioned to see relationships as milestones—the next step in a progression that starts with school, leads to work, and culminates in pairing up with someone. Living alone, especially for an extended period, is often seen as a gap in that journey, an incomplete chapter. People will tell you, “You’ll find someone eventually,” as if that’s the only logical conclusion to your story.

    But what if it’s not? What if solo living isn’t a phase, but a destination?

    While you ponder that for a moment, remember this too: A destination doesn’t have to be permanent.

    Even if you do eventually choose to be in a relationship, seeing solo living as just a waiting room stops you from fully embracing its benefits. You miss the chance to build a life that’s wholly your own, free from compromise, free from expectations, and rich with self-determined purpose.

    You Are Not Half of a Whole

    There’s a long-standing cultural myth that people are “halves” looking for completion in someone else. This idea is everywhere—from fairytales to rom-coms—but it’s flawed. You are already whole.

    A relationship might enhance your life, but it shouldn’t be the thing that defines its meaning. The moment you start living like you’re waiting for someone to come along and “complete” you, you put yourself on pause. You stop building, stop growing, stop fully inhabiting your own life.

    Instead of waiting, why not thrive? Instead of seeing this time as a gap, why not see it as an opportunity?

    The Real Measure of Success in Solo Living

    If thriving solo isn’t just a phase, how do you measure success? Not by whether you eventually couple up, but by whether your life feels fulfilling and satisfying right now. Success in solo living looks like:

    • Feeling content and at home in your own space.
    • Having routines and habits that support your wellbeing.
    • Enjoying your own company without feeling like something is missing.
    • Pursuing hobbies, passions, and interests on your own terms.
    • Building a life that’s not defined by the absence of a relationship, but by the presence of things that make you happy.

    Solo Might Be Better for You—At Least Right Now

    Maybe solo life is right for you forever. Maybe it’s just right for you right now. Either way, why not make the most of it?

    Instead of treating solo living as a waiting room, see it as an open space where you can explore, learn, and grow without constraints. What do you want from your life, on your own terms? That’s the real question—not whether or not you’ll find someone someday.

    Solo isn’t a pause. It’s a path. And it might just be exactly the right one for you.

  • Activity-Specific Relationships

    … or why not every connection has to be your new BFF.

    We grow up with the idea that we should all have a “best friend forever”—one person who knows everything about us, shares every interest, and is always there, no matter what. It’s a comforting idea, but in reality, most friendships don’t work like that. More often than not, the strongest and most enduring connections are activity-specific relationships—friendships that are deeply meaningful, but centred around a particular shared experience rather than an all-encompassing bond.

    The Myth of the All-Purpose Best Friend

    The idea of a single, catch-all best friend is ingrained in us from childhood. We see it in books, movies, and TV shows—two inseparable people who share every aspect of their lives. But real friendships, just like real people, are far more complex.

    The truth is, it’s rare to find someone who aligns with you across every aspect of life. More often, we connect with different people in different ways. The friend you go hiking with might not be the same one you’d talk to about personal struggles. The person who shares your love of old movies might not care at all about your latest work project. And that’s okay.

    Why Activity-Specific Relationships Matter

    Rather than seeing friendships as “all or nothing,” it can be freeing to embrace relationships for what they actually are: meaningful within their specific context. Activity-specific relationships thrive because they remove the pressure of needing to be everything for each other. Instead, they let people connect in ways that are natural and effortless.

    Some of the strongest bonds people form are through shared activities. A running partner, a gaming friend, a book club companion, a gym buddy—these are all relationships built on something tangible and real. And in many ways, they can be even more valuable than an undefined, all-purpose friendship.

    I’ve had great friends that I trained martial arts with. Others that I’ve gamed with. I’ve made friends at work, at the gym, at photo sessions and simply because we both ended up at the same cafe at the same time a lot.

    None of them were BFF’s, but they were all meaningful connections. All of them had value to me, added something to my life, and none of them were permanent.

    That’s OK. There’s a strength in that.

    The Strength in Defined Connections

    A friendship that exists within a defined activity can often feel more stable. There’s a built-in rhythm, a natural way to interact, and no pressure to make it anything other than what it is. These relationships allow for depth and connection without the weight of expectation—no need to be each other’s emotional crutch, no pressure to force a deeper connection outside of the shared space.

    Activity-based friendships can also be longer lasting than general-purpose friendships. When a friendship is built around “everything,” it can be more prone to fizzling out when life circumstances change. But when it’s built around something specific—weekly game nights, weekend cycling trips, an online writing group—it has a strong foundation to keep it going, even if other aspects of life shift.

    Letting Go of the Need for One “Perfect” Friend

    There’s something liberating about allowing friendships to be what they naturally are. Rather than searching for a single person to fulfill every social need, embracing a variety of connections based on shared interests and activities can lead to a richer, more fulfilling social life.

    Instead of asking, “Who is my best friend?” the better question might be: “Who do I connect with in ways that matter?”

    Maybe your deep, meaningful conversations happen with a friend from your book club. Maybe your sense of adventure is shared with a travel buddy. Maybe your competitive side comes alive with your gaming group. None of these friendships are lesser for being activity-specific. If anything, they may be more meaningful because they allow each person to be fully themselves in that space, without needing to be everything to each other.

    Final Thought: A New Definition of Meaningful Friendships

    Friendship isn’t about finding one person to be your everything—it’s about forming connections that matter, in ways that work for you. Activity-specific relationships offer a different kind of depth, one that doesn’t demand all-encompassing closeness but thrives on shared passion and consistency.

    And maybe, just maybe, that’s more sustainable—and even more rewarding—than trying to find a single “best friend forever.”