In the 20th Century:
You deserve your own happy-ever-after.
In the 21st Century:
You have free will to make choices.
Back in the early days of my career, I used to reassure people:
“95% of women eventually end up married.”
It may take time, but marriage is the destiny for nearly all women.
That’s no longer the case.
According to Peter McGraw at the Leeds School of Business, up to 25% of Millennials are projected to remain unmarried.
That doesn’t mean they won’t have relationships. It just means they won’t walk down the aisle.
Is that bad news?
Should we be worried?
I don’t think so, and here’s why.
Women haven’t had the choice to remain unmarried for most of human history.
They couldn’t support themselves on their own. If they didn’t get married, they’d end up stuck at home under their parents’ thumb for the rest of their lives.
To me, it’s thrilling that woman now have a choice.
We can choose to get married or not. We can fly solo or enjoy committed lifelong relationships. It’s entirely up to us.
The most exciting freedom that women of today have—a freedom that women of hundreds of years ago would have died for—is the freedom to walk away from a bad relationship.
We can say no to men.
I don’t think most of us realize how revolutionary that is.
For most of human history, women have remained stuck in toxic, abusive, loveless marriages.
They couldn’t say no. They had to make the best of it.
When you think about the challenges facing you in your love life, remember your great-grandmothers and their grandmothers before them.
You are among the first generations to be free to make ANY choice you want in love.
Happy-ever-after is what you make of it.
Let us know what you think!