Jul 19, 2026 · 17 min · 10 segments
How many things have you skipped — not because you couldn't do them alone, but because some part of you felt embarrassed to be seen out doing them by yourself? That restaurant, that movie, that class…
And for the first few years of living here, I had no friends in the city or anyone to hang out with besides my ex-husband.
All of these things were scary at first, but the more I did them, the more they became normal and I stopped overthinking them.
Now, I want to start by clearing something up because I think the phrase solo date still makes some of us cringe a little.
A solo date is not the consolation prize you settle for when nobody else is available.
A solo date is an intentional plan you make with yourself, like a real outing, a real block of time, where the point is your own enjoyment, and it's not a backup plan while you wait for someone else to be free.
Going to dinner alone because your friend canceled last minute is not the same thing as choosing to take yourself to dinner on purpose.
And that decision is doing something for you that the accidental version never will.
I want you to think about what it actually says when you plan something for yourself on purpose with the same amount of care that you'd put into a plan that you'd be making with somebody else.
You're telling yourself in a way that's hard to fake, that your own time is worth planning around, that you don't need a witness for an experience to count, and that you are, in fact, good enough company to take somewhere nice.
So before we go any further, I want you to let go of any version of this where a solo date is what you do when you have no other options.
And for the first few years of living here, I had no friends in the city or anyone to hang out with besides my ex-husband.
All of these things were scary at first, but the more I did them, the more they became normal and I stopped overthinking them.
Now, I want to start by clearing something up because I think the phrase solo date still makes some of us cringe a little.
A solo date is not the consolation prize you settle for when nobody else is available.
A solo date is an intentional plan you make with yourself, like a real outing, a real block of time, where the point is your own enjoyment, and it's not a backup plan while you wait for someone else to be free.
Going to dinner alone because your friend canceled last minute is not the same thing as choosing to take yourself to dinner on purpose.
And that decision is doing something for you that the accidental version never will.
I want you to think about what it actually says when you plan something for yourself on purpose with the same amount of care that you'd put into a plan that you'd be making with somebody else.
You're telling yourself in a way that's hard to fake, that your own time is worth planning around, that you don't need a witness for an experience to count, and that you are, in fact, good enough company to take somewhere nice.
So before we go any further, I want you to let go of any version of this where a solo date is what you do when you have no other options.
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