WHEN MOST PEOPLE hear the words ‘fear of commitment’, they think of the eternally single people who swear by a no-strings dating life. They don’t necessarily consider the major constraints long-term contracts and relationships of all kinds can bring.
Living with no strings attached is not just about romance. It’s about a low-commitment lifestyle, where nothing is set in stone… so anything is possible. Even if you never actually do it. Here are some of the signs that a no-strings-attached lifestyle is for you…
Even though you enjoy that smug post-gym glow as much as the next person, the idea of signing up for a year of attending (or more likely, feeling guilty about not attending) the gym kind of makes you want to break out in a sweat. And not the good, endorphin-filled type of sweat.
You can’t categorically say for sure that this is anything more than a phase, and you’ve always had it at the back of your mind that you’ve wanted to take up rock climbing/hot yoga/doing triathlons, so paying up front for a steel jungle just seems silly.
In a property market where there are people queuing in new developments at 4am to buy a house, even the word mortgage makes you visibly shudder. Yes, you know that long-term you may as well flush the rent you pay down the toilet. And you’re totally OK with that.
But the satisfaction of knowing that you could up and move to New York within a few weeks, or that you’d have an easy escape if things suddenly went sour with your roommate are worth every cent. Plus, that dodgy wallpaper will never be your problem.
It’s not that you’re not willing to give someone a chance on a first date, it’s just that while you’re on said first date you just start to notice some things that leave you a little reluctant to go on a second.
Whether they’re constantly on their phone while you’re at a bar or streaming a movie, seem to be suffering acutely from ‘ex-mentionitis’ or you quickly realise that they say ‘thank you’ to waiters in an intensely irritating way, you’re just not committed enough to invest your time in a second date.
As much as you’d love the dopey, never-ending love of a dog to greet you as you get home from work each evening, you managed to kill a cactus once and you’re not entirely sure you should be trusted with any other living things.
You’re a little afraid that having a household pooch would suddenly count you out of weekends away, ever moving to a different city or impromptu drinks in the sun after work (who’d walk Ralph while you were living it up in a beer garden?)
It’s not that you don’t want to spend time with your friends when you ask, you’d just like to spend time with said friends at the most exciting event possible, and for that reason you like to leave your weekends open.
This extreme level of FOMO also usually means that you’ve bought tickets to almost all 198 of Ireland’s music festivals and need to have watched any TV show there is ever a buzz about, but the power of staying in the know is always worth it.
Whether you have ‘friendly disagreements’ over Game of Thrones vs Billions or you will happily watch different shows with headphones in the same room, it’s hard to commit to just one series.
There’s nothing unhealthy with wanting to follow three shows at the same time, and it’s just a reflection of the quality of television shows and your insatiable FOMO rather than any sort of personality flaw, we promise.
Whether you want to spend the weekend reigniting your love of Geordie Shore, Twin Peaks or keep the FOMO at bay by watching every episode of Game of Thrones before Season 7 releases in July, NOW TV is the new, no-contract online streaming service for those who want great content with no strings attached. You can watch over 250 box sets and shows from ten top channels live and on demand.
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