Do You Need A Partner To Have A Happy Life?

Published on May 19th, 2021

Updated on January 2nd, 2024

Happiness is the prospect for most people in life. It is commonly assumed that in order to be happy, you must find a partner to spend your life with. People tend to think that happy endings include growing old with a partner. Whether a spouse, live in partner, or significant other, romance can bring happiness into life. At the same time, having a partner is not the only thing that can bring happiness.

While having someone who loves you can bring happiness and contentment into life, you do not need a partner to have a happy life.

Happiness Vs. Contentment

It is important to understand the difference between feeling happy and feeling content. Happiness is an emotion. It is felt when it is triggered. The reality is that happiness is felt in moments that warrant a happy feeling. It is unrealistic for us to expect ourselves to feel happy all the time.

Contentment is a state of satisfaction. It is a state of mind. ‘Content’ can last more consistently than happiness. While many people seek to find happiness in their lives, it is an unrealistic expectation to reach a state of constant happiness. In order to set more realistic expectations for yourself, it can be helpful to seek a feeling of being content.

Feeling content does not mean that you miss out on things in life that you want for yourself. It is a means of feeling comfortable and satisfied with what you have earned for yourself, even if you still have prospects of achieving other things, like love and a life partner. Feeling happy requires moments that spark joy. Feeling content requires you to feel at peace with yourself, even if your life is not as you have envisioned.

What A Partner Can Realistically Provide For You

Having a partner in life does bring happiness. It brings support, companionship, memories, and of course, love. We crave all of these things in life, and they all can bring us happiness. While a partner can bring you happiness, it does not mean that you need a partner to be happy.

While a partner can bring you happiness, maintaining a relationship can be hard work. Like anything worth having, it takes a great deal of effort to maintain a relationship with a partner. Not every moment with a partner is a happy one. There will be many trying moments and points of disagreement for any couple. Oftentimes, the challenges that come with a relationship cannot be overcome. This can cause a partner to leave, or a relationship to dismantle.

The reality is, that while a partner can bring happiness, depending on a partner for happiness can be unrealistic and unhealthy for both you and them. Romantic relationships can end, so what is more important is your relationship with yourself.

What Facilitates A Happy Life

It is true that a partner can help your feel happy and content. However, it is not need to feel happy. You will need other things in life that make you feel good. Among those things are self-esteem, a sense of self-fulfillment, and meaningful relationships with friends and family.

Self-Esteem

It is difficult to achieve and maintain, but positive self-esteem is a major part of feeling happy and content. Without a positive self-esteem (even if it has moments of insecurity) it will be hard to feel good about yourself. When you don’t feel good about yourself, it can be challenging to feel content with your life.

Promoting self-worth, self-forgiveness and self-value is a powerful method of building happiness in life, and one that can be done without the support of a romantic partner.

Self-Fulfillment

A sense of self-fulfillment is another important factor that ties creating a happy life. When we feel fulfilled, we feel like we met our life goals and values. Whether those values are geared through career, family or life experiences, if we can create a lifestyle for ourselves that helps us feel fulfilled, we will be promoting happiness and content feelings.

If we can stay true to what is truly important to us, and promote a lifestyle that prioritizes our own self-values, we will promote happiness and life satisfaction. Partners can be a part of feeling fulfilled, but it is possible to live a fulfilled life without a partner.

Friends And Family

Romantic relationships are not the only important relationships in life. Friends and family are just as important and can do wonders with promoting happiness. Family and friends serve as major members of our social support system. Without them, you can be left feeling quite lonely, even if you do have a partner who supports you.

Having more than one healthy relationship in your life can promote overall happiness. The more meaningful and healthy relationships you have in life, the more likely you are to be happy.