There’s a actually magnificent second that comes just a few weeks, months or years after a breakup: you begin actually believing you’re going to be OK once more. The fog of heartbreak lifts, the world turns into somewhat brighter, you clear up your room and discard the recollections of affection misplaced; you dress up and make plans and optimism returns. You’re ‘you’ once more (the very best you, single you…). I recover from breakups comparatively rapidly by chasing this sense. After my final relationship broke down, I began coaching for a half-marathon, launched a podcast, hosted dance lessons, and did a few of my greatest work as a journalist. I grew to become an unrelenting doer, hyper-focused on myself and it was the ache and disappointment of the breakup that fueled me (“I’ll present him, I’ll present everybody…”). For me, life after a breakup means self-improving every single day till I’m buffed, shiny and new once more. I glow up.
