After much thought on the subject, I decided I need to truly get to grips with being single.  No dreading, no worrying that single people fall into the category of leper, no sleepless nights, no staring at the Blackberry to see if the red light has started flashing in the last 0.0001 seconds, no wishing a Sunday away as it is just too long a day to deal with.

So I sat down and tried to work out what the worst fear associated with singledom would be – and the answer popped up with ease – this would be going to a movie on my own.  The worst time to do this?  A Friday or a Saturday evening, when other couples are out and about together, hand in hand, swapping popcorn boxes and sharing slush puppies.  I was proud of the fact that I had worked out what my “single trigger” would be as they would say in relationship rehab (so I hear), but now I had to see if I had the courage to do anything about it.

I hopped onto the internet in the safety of my own home office, where I knew no-one would or could see me.  I took a huge plunge… I booked a single movie ticket online, for a Friday evening.  Now I had to see whether I had the personal strength to get myself there.

Friday rolled along, as they do, and time was ticking slowly towards movie hour.  Surprisingly, I was slightly excited at the prospect of conquering a personal fear, and so drove off happily to the movie house, whilst listening intently to my latest self-help CD in the car.  Arriving safely at my destination, I ordered popcorn for one, and off I went to my seat.

People started rolling in to the movie theatre and I have to admit, I started to wobble.  Were they all looking at me on my own in the corner thinking “loser”?  “Where is her husband, fiancée, boyfriend, friend, child”?  I started studying every individual popped piece of corn with great interest, praying for the lights to dim.  Luckily for me, the process began to get easier as I had two predominant thoughts – firstly, I had made it to the movie on my own, and must be proud of that, and secondly, no one there gave a damn about who I was and who I was with (or wasn’t with as was the case) – oddly enough, the second thought was the one that made me feel much better about the task at hand.

The movie started, the popcorn remained glued to my lap, and all was well.  As luck would have it, the movie, a typical “chick flick” was exactly what the doctor ordered, and lifted my spirits immediately.  Suddenly, the garden they call singledom was full of roses, all in bloom.  The weekend had begun, and had begun in a fun, positive, happy way.

The moral is a line I have heard often, but seldom acted upon, until now:  Feel the fear (tick) and do it anyway (double tick).