I'm a man in his early 30s, single by choice for about 5 years now.

Going my own way came with its benefits, but also challenges that I'd like to share with the younger men out there, but also older ones.

The benefits:
- The feeling of freedom, no one tells you what to do or how to behave. You live your own life and make your own choices. It can alleviate the burden that others put on your shoulders.

- Don't have to spend money on women for gifts or anything to ''meet'' their expectations. Also, if you have no kids and are not married, then no money spent on child support or divorce rape. At the end you have more money in your bank account and this will come handy in the future.

- You set your own limits and don't have to deal with women's drama if you don't feel like it. If for some reason there are still women in your life for various reasons (i.e sex life) - you can simply choose to ignore them when their moods swings or when they try to manipulate / subtly take control of your life. Every time it happens I just ignore them or completely cut them out of my life. Works wonder.

- It is gratifying and great for your self-esteem to be able to do things by yourself and not depend on others / rely on others. I highly suggest men going their own way to learn as many new things as possible. You shouldn't have to rely on others too much. For example, I sucked with mecanical problems on my car. Learning how to take care / repair my car by myself in some scenarios could be very useful. Also, it's very important to have routines. Have a steady sleep schedule. Clean your living space. Have a healthy diet. Work out a bit every day. Your body is in some kind of way your vehicle. Taking great care of yourself can prevent you some problems down the line. That's why it's very important to have great discipline. I can't tell you how great it feels to relax after a hard day in a clean living space, knowing it's MY OWN space and that I've worked hard for it.

- You have more time to do the things that you want to do. Want to meet with the boys? Drink beer? Eat pizza? You don't have to ask anyone's permission. Go for it and enjoy.

The Challenges:

- You're all alone...by yourself. My parents are getting old and dying. It breaks my heart. I'm alone to deal with this, it is not easy but then again, I know by taking great care of myself, I will be able to get through these hard times. My brother chose the simp way of having children, having to pay child support from multiple women and getting married (there will be a divorce down the line). He doesn't learn from his mistakes but I do.

- Only you can take care of you. No one is going to cook for you, give you massages, etc, forget all the things that comes with relationships unless you paid for it or have some special arrangement on the side with someone. It's your time to learn to be truely independent. Financially and mentally.

The main problem with men is that they simp for ''emotional'' support from women. It's counterproductive and ironic because women are likely to ditch you when you need the emotional support. What I'm trying to say is YOU are responsible of your own emotions. A great way to keep a good mood is to have routines, discipline, hobbies. Those who can afford it: get a dog. A dog will be your best friend, a dog will always be happy when you come back from work, a dog will never say no to you if you want to go jogging outside.
I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for some time in my life when I wasn't taking great care of me. I had to meet a psychiatrist every now and then he told me how important it was to have discipline and routines. You shouldn't spend all of your life worrying about things that no one cares about.

I may have forgotten a few lines but that's my reflexion of the day.