Whether your divorce has been amicable or contentious, you will likely feel a combination of both grief and relief once it is finalized. As you prepare for the finalization of your divorce, you are also preparing for your newly single life. You may be moving to a different residence, altering your work-life and shopping for new possessions, depending on what possessions your spouse opted to keep post-split. The process of transitioning from married life to single life can be unquestionably difficult.
Thankfully, once your divorce is finalized, your to-do list will change somewhat. You may need to continue to shop, move things around and otherwise adjust to living alone. However, once you have weathered the process of divorce, you can begin to live in a way that is more fully devoted to your own needs as opposed to the needs of the process itself.
Once you are divorced, you can fall apart and pull yourself back together without worrying how this grieving cycle will affect the divorce process. You can travel in order to clear your head and gain new perspective. You can dine alone wherever your please, with or without a good book. Or you can dine with a friend or loved one without having to give your spouse a heads up about where you are going and why.
When your divorce has been finalized, the process of healing and truly embracing the next phase of your life can begin in earnest. When you no longer have to worry about how your actions may affect the outcome of your divorce, you can focus on how your actions will simply and utterly affect you.
Source: The Huffington Post, “50 Things I’ve Done Since My Divorce That You Should Do Too,” S. Fringehead, Nov. 13, 2014