Category: Dating

  • Want To Find True Love? Ditch Online Dating And Get In The Real World

    Want To Find True Love? Ditch Online Dating And Get In The Real World

    woman in pink dress holding an iPhoneImagine a new world of dating where:

    -People can’t lie about height, weight, and other aspects of physical appearance
    -You can actually tell if a person is real or a catfish
    -You can know if you’re compatible with someone before you go on the first date
    -You can experience important aspects of dating like scent, charisma, charm, and body language as soon as you meet

    If this sounds too good to be true, then you need to step away from your phone because what I’ve described is known as “real world dating.” In fact, it’s not a “new” way of dating at all, but the way people have fallen in love for millenia, long before dating apps cursed us to the whims of the algorithm.

    The other day a good friend of mine and I went to the Gallery Hop, an event held monthly in our city where people visit various art galleries, shops, and bars. We attend these to have fun, experience culture, and meet new people.

    Next to us at a coffee shop, we noticed three women glued to their phones. Incredibly two of them were on Bumble. They were mostly swiping left and complaining about all of the bad guys on the app.

    They were in the midst of a social event with thousands of people in one of the most vibrant sections of the city. But, instead of meeting the educated, cultured guys all around them and talking to them, they were swiping left on losers.

    I’m not here to bash technology because I love it. But, technology has definitely contributed to the loneliness epidemic sweeping America. People are glued to their phones and socially isolated. And, they only try to find love via technology where they are limited by algorithms and platforms that turn them into a picture and a headline.

    The way to break free is to talk to people in the real world. While you might be limited by geography and schedules, at least by meeting people at bars, coffee shops, on the train, at work, and at social events, you bypass a lot of the nonsense of online dating.

    patio at a fancy barThat cute guy you’ve never seen online after months on Tinder? You can say “hi” at the Starbucks counter. The girl who filtered you out on Match because you didn’t make enough money? You can flirt with her while ordering drinks at the bar. Your future soulmate? He or she could be anyone of the the hundreds of people you encounter, but ignore on a regular basis!

    Meeting in the real world can be tough. Even thinking about it could give you anxiety. It’s so much easier to swipe and match in the comfort of your own home. Or is it?

    I like to remind people that online dating is actually difficult and stressful. You spend a lot of time matching and messaging only to be ghosted in a week. Or, you get the person out and he or she looks and acts nothing like the online persona. So, it’s back to the drawing board. And then there’s the outright lying, deception, spamming, bots, scammers, and time wasters you have to wade through.

    While meeting people in the real world can be anxiety inducing upfront, at least you’re saving yourself a lot of the headaches and heartaches that online dating brings.

    For example, if you see a cute guy on the train, talk to him and you give him your number, you know what he looks like, you know you find him cute in the real world, and you’ve bonded briefly. If he texts you and you get along, then you’re already way ahead of the game.

    In the real word, you see people you like and choose to meet them. You can experience their personality, their looks, and all of the intangibles of attraction. You decide then and there if you like them. And, above all, your options aren’t limited by artificial preferences or algorithms. You control your destiny. Do you talk to them or not? That’s it.

    Yes, you might be rejected. In fact, you will be rejected.  But, at least you can “shoot your shot” rather than never be seen at all because you’re out of someone’s preference ranges or the algorithm thinks you’re a bad match. And, did I mention algorithms suck at finding love anyway?

    Also, the more you try it, the better you’ll become at meeting new people in the real world. And, you won’t be rejected. Trust me, going on a date with someone you met and asked out in the real world is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

    This month we’ll be focusing on ways to succeed in real world dating. But, it’s easier than you think. It’s often as simple as hanging out in the right places, being friendly, saying hi to strangers, talking to people you see regularly, and offering to followup. Sure, it can be harrowing at times. But, the reward is great.

    Please join us over at our Facebook page in our quest to find love in 2019!

  • Can’t Find Love Online? It’s Not You; It’s The Algorithms

    Can’t Find Love Online? It’s Not You; It’s The Algorithms

    When I was in 8th grade, my school thought it would be a great idea for us students to fill out a questionnaire and run all of them through computer matchmaking software, and then give us a sheet of compatible people. This was in the era of floppy disks, but nonetheless, I had a strange amount of faith that a computer would succeed in finding me the right person, since my awkward teenage self wasn’t very good at doing it.

    social media apps on phoneWhen the results arrived, I was extremely disappointed. My top matches weren’t even close to the girls I liked in real life. Others complained as well, as their boyfriends and girlfriends weren’t on their top list. The only “couple” that did have a high match percentage was my brother and a girl who liked him (whom he ended up dating), but that’s because she got a hold of his answers and changed hers accordingly.

    It sounds absurd that anyone would base love on a software program’s suggestions, but that’s exactly what we are doing when we hand over control of our dating lives to dating apps

    In the early days of dating apps, you pretty much saw everybody and could message everybody. Then women started realizing something. Online dating is a lot like being a single woman at a club full of drunk and horny men. There are a lot of guys competing for their attention. So, women would get inundated with messages from all kinds of guys…married guys, much younger guys, much older guys, creeper guys, ugly guys, guys from all over the world, scammer guys, and every other type of guy imaginable.

    So, dating apps started to restrict men’s access to women accordingly. They not only gave women more choice in their filters, but they also made it so many guys wouldn’t even be seen unless they fell into a narrow band of what women claimed they were looking for in a guy.

    Swipe apps were perfect for this, because a guy couldn’t just shoot a random message to a woman unless she matched with him first.

    But then even swipe apps started getting crazy. Women were literally matching with every guy that came up because guys were pretty much liking every woman. Women were sick of sorting through so many perceived duds, they wanted to not even see most guys. So, swipe apps started developing algorithms so that most guys just became invisible.

    checklist with pink highlighterAll of this seems like a good development, but the problem is that we are dealing with human love and attraction, not picking which computer to buy.

    Love is far messier and more complicated.

    For one, machine learning sucks at matching people at least if the criteria is real-world attraction and connection. I believe part of this is because humans in general suck at knowing what we really like from people.

    Things like smell, presence, charm, kindness, and even a person’s immunity level all go into real world attraction and connection. These are more important than the things we logically say matter (or that dating apps tell us matter), like common interests, political views, and even a person’s exact age, height, or weight. Attraction is more of a gut feeling than a combination of logical check-boxes.

    Dating apps can’t measure for these things.

    An algorithm simply can’t “get” chemistry, at least not yet. It can’t find you that unexpected person who takes your breath away for reasons you aren’t sure of. And, this is assuming dating app algorithms are even designed to get you into a relationship. I mean, a billion dollar company like Match Group (which owns Tinder, Hinge, OK Cupid, and Match) certainly has our best interests in mind, right?

    I often joke that a lot of people wouldn’t even see some of their biggest crushes on dating apps. Your boss you can’t stop thinking about at work? You didn’t know he was in his 30s instead of his 20s because he looks young for his age, did you? He’s out.

    The guy you see on the subway every day who smells amazing? He lives 25 miles away and is actually 5’8″ and not 5’10” so he’s out of your range on both filters.

    Even if you did have your filters set as openly as possible, dating algorithms tend to show you a narrow subset of people, and heavily restrict the guys you see, so you probably wouldn’t see either of them on a dating app anyway, unless you swiped for hours.

    woman in coat looking at phone An app was recently released that showed how limiting dating app algorithms can be. The more you swipe, the more the app limits the types of people you’ll see. By the end, you are only seeing a narrow band of people (or monsters in the case of the app mentioned above).

    So, you may not be seeing the very people you would connect with in real life, but are instead seeing a very narrowly defined group of people you think you’ll connect with. This may be why the success statistics related to relationships derived from online dating aren’t very encouraging.

    Imagine if real life worked this way. The people you have come to fall for over time, or whom you fell for that initially weren’t your “type,” wouldn’t exist in your awareness.

    If there should be a dating theme for 2019, it should be “break free from the algorithms.”

    Guys need to break free because they simply aren’t being seen. They are invisible to most women, and have no way to project what matters online to be seen: their personalities, presence, etc.

    If you don’t believe me, keep in mind that despite the rise of online dating’s popularity, the number of guys who are involuntarily single has skyrocketed, and includes 1 in 3 men under 30 who haven’t had sex in the last year. In fact I recently wrote an article suggesting men should simply go “offline” and meet women in person because that’s their only real hope these days to stand out.

    Women need to break free because they aren’t leading to the quality relationships that most women want. Relationships that began online are 28% more likely to break down in the first year, and marriages from online dating are three times more likely to end in divorce (see this).

    There is also the issue that algorithms enable men to be players. There is evidence that most women are liking the same subset of guys. For example on the Hinge app 1% of guys received 16% of all female likes. The top ten percent of men got over 50% of female likes! This means that a small subset of guys (the ones women are all liking) have a constant stream of women liking them.

    This explains the flaking, ghosting, and rejections of exclusivity many women complain about, because many of the guys the algorithm is showing you are getting a constant cycle of women matching with them. These guys have no incentive to ever settle down, or if they do, it will be with the absolute, most perfect woman of the bunch.

    So, for men and women both, breaking free from the algorithm means: talking to people you meet in real life, approaching people, taking out your headphones, showing openness, smiling, flirting, being present in the moment instead of being buried in your phone, stop playing “hard to get,” etc. Basically, it means going back to the way people made chemistry-filled connections in the past: in the real world, where the only limiting algorithm is you.

     

     

  • Get Noticed: Writing A Successful Online Dating Profile

    Get Noticed: Writing A Successful Online Dating Profile

    woman thinking with computerDating profiles run the gamut from amazing to painful. The amazing ones are the people you’d like to date, while the painful ones can elicit a left swipe and hopefully a good laugh (unless, of course, you’re the one with a painfully bad profile). But, most of the profiles are in what could be called the “boring middle.”

    Most people have no idea how to get noticed online and know little about writing a successful online dating profile. If anything, they do the opposite.

    For example, you like tacos? So do 99% of people. Own a dog? Again, you’re pretty much like everyone else. Sharing an inspirational quote? Yeah, everyone has already seen that fake Marilyn Monroe quote plastered over social media. Heck, for many guys, simply coming up with a profile must be too difficult because many of our women clients complain about men not even putting up a single word.

    I’m not a big fan of online dating for many reasons. However, there definitely is a place for it. But, if your profile is boring, offensive, or even average, you might as well not even bother wasting your time. But, you can find success with your online dating profile. Here are four basic tips to write one that finds you love.

    Be Positive

    “Broke ass guys swipe left” or “I want a guy with ambition, goals, and a good job.” Which do you think is more inviting for a guy?

    I have a very good job and would never be considered “broke.” But, I’d never in a million years match with someone who frames her desire for a financially stable guy like the first person.

    While it’s necessary to exclude people to avoid wasting time, I’d recommend keeping your profile positive rather than negative. You can even express your preferences in positive ways with a little creativity.

    By keeping it positive, you’re doing two things. First, you’re showing the world that you’re tactful and have a good attitude. Second, you’re not turning off the very guys you’re trying to impress. To go back to the first example, very few guys with culture, education, and money are going to go for a girl using the words “broke ass” and calling out other guys.

    Be Different

    woman texting on the phone on the beachI’ve done numerous personal experiments with online dating and I can tell you that most profiles look almost exactly alike. Sure, the photos and wording differ slightly, but people generally follow the same motifs. I’m sure you’ve noticed this too.

    When writing your profile, try to avoid being too general. Share details that will set you apart from the crowd. It’s helpful to ask yourself: “how many other people can say the same thing?” If it’s more than fifty percent, then put something else.

    For example, instead of writing “Game of Thrones junkie” talk about more unique or obscure television interests. Rather than expressing your love for the latest pop star, mention how you have a special place in your heart for trap music (or something else unusual). Don’t talk about your job which almost everyone has. Share how you love music theory instead. You get the point.

    You might think that this seems backwards because don’t you want to share things you’ll have in common? The answer is actually “no!” You want to share unique traits and interests that make you stand out and that will cause others to reach out to you and start interesting conversations. Remember that online dating is a saturated market. You have to stand out and be noticed, not blend in.

    Online dating is brutal and one study showed the abysmally low response rates even after matching. It shows you have to be different than everyone else, but in a good way, to even find a small amount of success.

    Be Concise

    You might think it’s a great idea to “lay it all out” when filling out your dating profile that way your match knows exactly what he or she is getting from the start. So, you share everything from your deepest desires to the time you accidentally called your teacher “mommy” in second grade.

    However, this isn’t the best method to find quality people to date. For one, in person dating is where most of the information about your life should come out. There is great excitement in finding out more about each other over dinner, drinks, and long walks home. By sharing it all upfront, you’re taking a lot of the romance out of the process.

    Second, you’re more likely to turn off a potential date who might otherwise like you. Once people meet and fall for each other, they’re a lot more likely to accept flaws and eccentricities. When they’re reading your life story online in paragraph form, their logical brain takes over and they see them as red flags.

    Don’t lie. But, also don’t feel you have to tell your whole life story in your profile. See it like a resume of sorts. Put your best foot forward, but don’t overshare. And, for goodness sake, leave room for a little mystery!

    Be Available

    I’ve seen a lot of profiles where people talk about traveling the world every two months or how their job (or kids) are their lives. While I love traveling, spend a lot of time at work, and certainly treasure my daughter, wording is everything.

    If you’re on a dating app and actually want to get a date, you have to show the world that you’re actually open and available to date. If your profile gives the impression that you are going to be too busy to date, too distracted for a relationship, or otherwise unavailable (even emotionally), a lot of people are simply going to not match with you. Well, one type of will message you if you come across as emotionally unavailable: players, who also are emotionally unavailable and prefer that you are.

    couple kissing in front of sunsetMost people are understanding of things like work, family, and travel commitments. But, if they get the impression that you have no room in your life for them, they aren’t going to favor you over the hundreds of other people on the app who actually express that they have the time and energy to commit to dating.

    While online dating might not be a ton of fun, if you try these tips, you will definitely improve your chances of finding someone quality to date. At the very least, you will be welcoming to the kinds of men and women that you truly want in your life.

    Please join us over at our Facebook page in our quest to find love in 2019!

  • How To Improve Your Online Dating Profile Photos For Men and Women

    How To Improve Your Online Dating Profile Photos For Men and Women

    I believe there is a lot more to attraction than physical looks, especially when women are evaluating men for attractiveness (men do place a large emphasis on physical looks in person and online, but that’s not the full story). So, I want to make this article fairly practical and explain how women and men both can make some simple changes to take and include better photos for your online dating profile.

    woman thinking with computerFirst though, I want to explain the purpose of photos. When men evaluate photos, we are mainly looking at facial attractiveness, bodily attractiveness, and signs of availability (i.e. would she be into me). Men evaluate women’s profiles almost entirely on looks, and then we will (maybe) read the profile if we are looking for something more long-term and high quality. However, the good news is that guys find 60% of women attractive online.

    Women, however, tend to want more from photos of guys. Yes, they want an attractive guy, but they want guys to show their personalities through the photos, which is why most women I know complain when guys only post selfies. Women want photos of guys doing things, mainly to show what kinds of worlds these guys inhabit, and what world these women would inhabit if they were to date them. Women are trying to gauge if the guys have a good social life, and are confident, kind, and interesting.  Since guys are often bad at taking photos (and just as clueless as to what constitutes good photos), this may explain why women find 80% of guys unattractive online (see the previous link).

    Ultimately for men and women both, your photos should show the real, but best version, of you – the fun, open, and exciting person who loves life and wants someone else to share in it. If you follow this principle you’ll avoid posting ridiculously serious selfies (like a lot of men) and showing up as some kind of god or goddess (a tendency of most women) that nobody could ever dream of connecting with.

    These general tips should help you use photos that will give you an edge online.

    For Men

    Not a bad looking guy, but this photo looks more “I’m staring into your soul” than mysterious. At least it’s professional looking.

    The biggest thing men can do is to stop posting horrible photos (or at least stop posting only horrible photos). This includes avoiding mirror selfies, or even worse, mirror selfies where you look so serious that you look like a serial killer (I promise you that you don’t look like a superhero…you look like a killer).

    Also, stop posting photos where you look like a total slob. And, a photo of you in jean shorts with an old T-shirt with the shoulders cut out is not a good look (i.e. you’re a slob).

    Don’t rely only on selfies. In fact have a female friend help you take a few photos that aren’t only the product of your front-facing camera.

    Instead, include photos that show your personality (and the best side of it!). If your photos convey that you’re a fun, confident, and successful guy, women will be far more likely to match with you, even if you’re not physically perfect.

    Women love guys in suits, or at the very least dressed sharply. I suggest having a “business” head shot of some kind. This shows confidence and leadership, traits women love.

    A great photo…good angle, in a suit, and the face is likely tuned a little.

    Also, it’s a good idea to post photos of you doing fun and interesting things. Did you run a marathon? Post a photo from that. Do you play guitar with a band? Post a photo of that. Did you travel to a cool place? Post a photo of that.

    I like including at least one photo with a pet (of you with a pet; not just the pet alone). This shows you like animals, and many women place a high value on that.

    If you don’t have any photos that fit these categories, then go out and get some. If you don’t do anything fun, exciting, or that would add value to a woman’s life if she knew you, then you need to focus on that.

    Also make sure the photos are high quality, i.e. in focus, cropped properly, and even slightly enhanced if necessary. Women love a guy’s eyes, and if you can highlight your eyes, that’s always a great look. Here’s a tutorial on how to make them “pop” in Photoshop. Some apps like Facetune can do this (and other tricks) on your phone (although it does cost a few dollars). Just go easy on this, because women are masters of using Facetune and will see through it if it’s overdone.

    For Women

    Having only photos like these (highly posed, stylized, showing traveling, etc) might be off-putting and intimidating.

    Most women I know do a pretty good job with photos. You all know what we guys are looking for, which is why most female profiles have photos that make you look the best in terms of physical attractiveness. However, I’m going to give you a tip that will help you match with quality guys.

    Many guys can be intimidated by your “perfect” photos. Many women’s profile photos these days are not only perfect photos physically (for example, they may choose the absolute best photo of 50 taken that day, but also Facetune the hell out of that), but they also show them doing all kinds of amazing things. This can be intimidating, especially to guys without supreme confidence, because they don’t think they have a chance.

    Guess which guys often have extreme confidence? Yep. Players!

    If you come across as almost inhuman, then it’s no surprise that players will flock to you because they too will gladly view you as inhuman.

    Cute, ordinary, smiling, not heavily stylized. This is a great photo

    So, it’s important to show your humanity, at least if you want a caring and kind guy. This involves showing your emotional availability. While a lot of women show their sexual availability through their photos (cleavage shots, bikini photos, etc – and while that may not be your intention, that is what guys are picking up, trust me), they aren’t showing a lot of emotional availability.

    So, show yourself looking ordinary and being ordinary. Come across as less of a supermodel or Instagram influencer, and more of a person a guy would see shopping at a grocery store. Even if you aren’t classically physically attractive, many guys will love it if you seem normal and human. In fact many guys would rather not engage someone who only presents as physically perfect.

    Also, avoid photos that aren’t of you. What’s up with inspirational sayings as photos? Or photos of just your pets? When guys see this they will assume you must look awful. Only the most creepy of guys will engage these profiles.

    So, switch up those photos and you’ll find that your online dating prospects might start getting better right away!

     

  • Online Dating Can Bring Out Your Worst: Here’s How To Be The Best Instead

    Online Dating Can Bring Out Your Worst: Here’s How To Be The Best Instead

    mad crazy woman with big eyesA friend of mine recently showed me his interaction with several women on Bumble that went nowhere. He asked what he did wrong and wanted help reviving the convsersations. The reality was that he was funny, engaging, and showed genuine curiosity. But, I’d summarize the conversation of his matches as “boring, bordering on rude.”

    One girl, for example, simply typed “terrible response” to a comment he made. Another gave him one word replies to his questions, but then never asked any questions herself. A third one started making plans with him. Then, when those plans were almost settled, she immediately ghosted him.

    Can you imagine this behavior in real life? You go out with friends, meet someone new, and make conversation. Then that person says, “terrible response.” Or, you make plans with someone and then that person walks away with no explanation. Or, what about a dinner conversation with one word answers and no follow up questions?

    When it comes to bad behavior online, you’ve probably seen it all, even outside of dating apps. People who are shy at work can be vicious trolls online. Someone who never brings up politics to friends will argue his or her candidate’s position to the death on social media. A guy who’d never whip out his junk in public thinks it’s OK to send unsolicited dick pics.

    There is often a divide between the real person and the online persona. Sometimes this divide is small while other times it’s the size of the grand canyon. The bigger the divide, the more difficult dating will be, whether you’re matching with people who are radically inauthentic or you’re trying to be someone completely different online.

    The online dating experience allows and even encourages in authenticity for a few reasons.

    First, the system itself is very shallow. I don’t have a problem with focusing on physical appearance. I think it’s an essential part of attraction. But, the very nature of online dating turns you into a photo, a bio, and a few questions. That’s shallow in the sense of only scratching the surface of who you really are.

    Second, with so many people trying to be fake online (more than half of users lie), there’s a lot of pressure for you to be fake too. If a guy who is 6’2” is adding two inches of height to be more impressive, imagine how the guy who is 5’4” feels. The same goes for a woman who might shave off a few years or a few pounds because to not do so would put her at a competitive disadvantage against other women who are using dishonest techniques.

    man in suit holding phoneFinally, people simply behave differently behind a screen. It might not even be malicious like a mild-mannered accountant turning into a horrible, angry troll online. Even someone who is fun, friendly, and witty in person could appear boring, judgmental, and cold when messaging via an online platform.

    You might think my solution to this problem is just to “be yourself.” However, as I’ve stated countless times in the past, many people take the advice of “be yourself” as an excuse to showcase all of their worst, or at least less than attractive, qualities. This is what leads to the kind of bad behavior I’ve referenced above (e.g. junk pics). But, it could also mean simply presenting yourself in an unappealing way on dating apps.

    The solution is to “be your best self” online. So, when you’re at your best, you highlight the most ideal, commendable parts of your personality, while also showing vulnerability. So, you can accept that you’re not perfect while also putting your best foot forward (like in a job interview).

    You’re not emphasizing your most undesirable traits, but you’re not pretending to be something you’re not either. This eliminates the oversharing that comes with unattractive profiles and conversations, but also the fakeness of people trying to clearly project a false image.

    In addition, whatever represents the “core” you is reflected online, not only in your dating profile, but also all of your interactions. Just because you’re behind a keyboard, you don’t turn into a nasty troll, an idealized princess, or a boring jerk (unless you really are all of those things).

    And, of course, the other side of the coin is true too: don’t be your worst self. That seems to be what happens during Twitter fights, trolling, online debates, and anything else that occurs when people hide behind the semi-anonymity that the internet allows. To take my first example, if you wouldn’t say “terrible response” to someone’s face, then don’t say it online.

    happy black couple smilingUsually this means narrowing (or eliminating) the gap between who you are in the real world and your online persona. And, remember, this isn’t necessarily about the bad things you do online. It also can include texting in a boring way or carrying on a conversation, then ghosting.

    In the end, narrowing this gap and being your best self will not only make you more authentic, but it will connect you to the people that you truly want to meet. It will also make your dates be more meaningful and better.

    After all, if you both show up looking and acting like the real deal from your online interactions, you’re already that much closer to a great relationship–with none of the manipulation and nonsense that can happen with online dating.

    Please join us over at our Facebook page in our quest to find love in 2019!

  • Want to Find True Love? Have Fewer Standards!

    Want to Find True Love? Have Fewer Standards!

    checklist with pink highlighterI enjoy telling the story of a woman who gave her list of requirements to local matchmakers who are my friends. He had to own a new car (last two years only), couldn’t be under six feet tall, and had to make at least six figures. Most ridiculously of all, he must never have urinated outdoors. Based on her last “requirement” alone, she could never date any man on planet earth.

    I tell this story frequently to illustrate just how crazy dating can be in 2019 and beyond. Also, I have nothing against preferences or requirements. I have my own and they matter. If you like tall, short, thin, fit, blonde, ginger, older, younger, or anything legal and consensual, then go for it!

    Still, I believe people need fewer so-called standards when dating in 2019. Bear with me and I’ll explain why this will ultimately open you up to more people and ones who will make you happier in the end.

    Thanks to online dating, a lot of people have created a checklist mentality when it comes to dating. They have a list of preferences or requirements in their head and look at every potential date in light of those. And, as time goes on, the list usually grows and grows until you get such absurdity as my opening story.

    This type of thinking is very logical. Online dating gives so much choice that people naturally look for measurable ways to sort through loads of people. Companies responded and gave filters. But, they focus on things that are easily measured like height, age, body type, and income.

    But, are those things what really make successful relationships? The great love stories throughout history don’t involve measuring tapes, scales, and proof of income. And, yours most likely don’t either.

    Think back to the last person you found insanely attractive. Did you ask for his W-2s? Did you take out a tape measure and lay out a set of scales? Did you immediately ask to see his ID to make sure he was in the 32-45 age range?

    In real life, attraction isn’t a set of metrics with definitive cutoffs. It is about charisma, appearance, smell, body language, intelligence and even subconscious judgments about a person’s warmth, kindness, passion, and energy. It’s an emotional feeling. You know it but you can’t quite explain why, let alone make it a list of metrics.

    Most of the people you’ve been madly in love with likely had a lot of flaws or shortcomings from a purely logical or checklist standpoint. But, attraction took over and you rolled with it due to the intense feelings of love and the good times together.

    woman thinking with computerMany of my coaching clients want help because they’re tired of settling with losers and boring people. They think I’m going to tell them to be more restrictive in their searching.

    They are shocked when I tell them to open up their options and give more people chances. However, the reality is that if you want to find an amazing partner, you’ll want to take an attitude of abundance, not restriction.

    There was a recent story on US National Public Radio where a woman paid matchmakers six thousand dollars to set her up with her eventual husband. However, she could’ve met him for free because they were both on the same dating apps. Why didn’t they meet? She filtered him out because he wasn’t tall enough! Listen to the audio interview to get all of the details.

    I love this story because it illustrates that love can’t be stripped down to a series of logical preferences, requirements, and checklists. And, when people try to do it, they end up being single for long periods of time and possibly miss out on their soulmate.

    In fact in the interview she admitted that she was ready to be alone and give up the idea of finding love. Her advice?

    I think you should be open minded. A lot of the criteria you have in your head is not actually meaningful at all. The person that you’re [really] looking for isn’t necessarily the ‘person you’re looking for.’

    Let me get back to the fewer standards thing. Notice I didn’t say lower standards. I definitely believe you should have standards, very high ones even. But, if you’re like the typical person trying to date in the modern world, you almost certainly need fewer, but more effective standards.

    Usually, these center around attractiveness, intelligence, humor, warmth, and passion. They are more “values” than preferences or standards. Everyone’s core standards might be slightly different, but, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know them.

    In general, however, they aren’t that easy to measure. For example, you can’t measure the security you feel with a confident, strong guy or the giddy feeling when your crush compliments your looks and brains. And, I guarantee you, these kinds of things are more important for happiness than a boring guy who nonetheless makes $100,000.01 and whose car is a model year 2019.

    And, yes, I recognize attraction as an important standard. Without it, the relationship isn’t going anywhere. However, nitpicking about whether the person could be a model and make you look good in a selfie isn’t what I’m talking about!

    So, resist the urge to create the perfect man or woman from scratch through a checklist, whether literally or in your head. Online, loosen your filters and get to know a lot of people. In the real world, don’t immediately nitpick every single fault in those you meet. And, get to know a variety of people.

    couple kissing in front of sunsetDon’t worry about “settling” because the filtering will still happen. It will just occur based on broader metrics like gut instinct and core values. And, it might take a little longer because it will require you to get to know people. You know…the process that actually leads to falling in love too!

    So, yes, have fewer standards! Instead focus on the core values and universal standards that you hold dear and that you know would make you happy in a relationship. Then, open up your world to people who can share a life with you according to those standards…even if they can’t tick off boxes 15, 18, 34, and 71 of your checklist.

    Please join us over at our Facebook page in our quest to find love in 2019!

  • Why Your Dream Person Could Be In Front Of You (But You Can’t See Them)

    Why Your Dream Person Could Be In Front Of You (But You Can’t See Them)

    Over the last few months, I’ve been trying to expand my social circle. I had changed jobs and moved, and was looking for some new friends (not that I had an issue with my old ones; I still have them and love them!).

    So, I was somewhat purposeful, and was more friendly in my regular places I hangout (including places where I regularly play trivia).

    blue neuronA few weeks ago I was thinking that I didn’t really have a lot of new people in my life. Then, I decided to look a little harder.

    And, I “saw” what was right in front of me. My number of Facebook friends has gone up by about 100 in the last few months, and it was all the people I had met in real life.

    I have played darts, played pool, and played trivia with a lot of cool people I have met over the last few months. I went from being on a trivia team of a few established friends, to now having up to six new people who join me.

    I walk into some places and get hugs from five different people. People buy me food and drinks. They tell me about their musical interests, hobbies, and their lives. And, I do the same with them.

    I have people that I can (and do) call when I need something to do, and who come to my events and gatherings.

    I told myself I hadn’t really met a lot of new people, yet there were plenty of new friends right in front of my eyes. But, for some reason in my head, they didn’t “count.” I guess it happened so organically and gradually that they were outside my awareness.

    This is a common dating mistake as well: missing what’s right in front of us.

    I hear things like “oh he’s great…but he’s a co-worker.” Or, “she’s perfect for me…but she’s a server so she ‘has to be nice to me.’”

    kissing couple taking selfieOr maybe you’ve felt something for someone for a long time, but you’ve labelled him or her as something that excludes romance, and you believe and reinforce the label. For example, you could see yourself marrying him instead of the 50 duds you dated from Tinder, but he’s “like a brother to you” so you dismiss him. Those duds on tinder? They’re “romantic options” (even though they ultimately aren’t, but you apply the label).

    Maybe she doesn’t have a college education so you dismissed dating her, but she’s the kindest, nicest, and smartest person you know, and leagues ahead of the college educated but awful people you’ve gone on dates with over the last few months.

    It could even be the people you pass every day on the street, or sit by on the subway. You have personal “rules” that exclude engaging them or even smiling at them or flirting. I have even seen people ignore smiling, happy people sitting near them to angrily swipe left on people on Tinder! Talk about ignoring what’s right before your eyes!

    As the Gorillaz sing in their song “Clint Eastwood,” you don’t see with your eyes; you see with your mind.

    So, “seeing” what’s in front of you doesn’t mean somehow improving your vision or even paying attention more to what you see (but that is part of it). It means doing some self-reflection on how your thoughts and actions are shaping how you approach dating (and the people you may possibly date).

    It means questioning your rules, assumptions, and narratives about happiness and dating. It means asking who/what you’re paying attention to and who/what you’re ignoring.

    For example, have you gone to the same club every weekend and met nobody, but refuse to even look up at anybody at the gym where you see loads of hot people because “you can’t bother people at the gym?”

    Did you keep walking when two girls smiled at you just to go back to your apartment to browse Tinder where you know you never get a match?

    Or, what about the narrative that you have to be in a relationship to be happy when the evidence may be clear that every relationship you’ve been in has made you miserable? Maybe being single for a while and seeing your friends more often is what you really want.

    Or what about the narrative that your potential partner has to… (be over 6’0″, look like a model, be younger, be older, have a degree, etc), when you might have dated ten people like that and felt no connection for them?

    While I’m not saying it’s necessarily always the case that the right person may be metaphorically under your nose, for many people, it might be true. How can you see something differently that may show you happiness is right within your grasp?

    Please join us over at our Facebook page in our quest to find love in 2019!

     

  • How To Put The Fun Back In Dating

    How To Put The Fun Back In Dating

    When I was a teacher, a lot of my colleagues took the view that if the students were having fun, they couldn’t be learning! I sometimes kept my view of such asininity (yes, that’s a word) to myself, because I honestly can’t think of a dumber view of learning! The reality is that research shows the opposite is true. If you absolutely hate what you’re doing, not only will you resist doing it, but you won’t learn anything from it.

    And, this is why most people hate dating in 2019: we have taken all the fun out of it, view it as an arduous and gigantic pain in the ass, and then wonder why it is so horrible.

    But, I argue that dating actually can be fun, if we just “get out of our own way,” and start thinking differently about dating. Below I list a few ways to do just that!

    Stop Pre-Screening So Much

    couple riding a bike togetherYou may think pre-screening is a good idea, and I do suggest some degree of “gate-keeping” to keep out the worst-of-the-worst (like felons, scammers, etc).

    However the problem with pre-screening is that it takes out a lot of the potential fun and connection of dating. Think back to the fun times you’ve had romantically. Now, think of how many of those people you never would have met in 2019 because you probably would have pre-screened them because they: were too short, too overweight, too old, or too young, didn’t open with anything clever, “are not going anywhere,” didn’t look like they’d take good couples photos you could show off on social media, etc.

    Part of the fun of dating involves mystery and intrigue, and the chemistry that can come from this. Pre-screening eliminates a lot of this element of dating. It also usually selects for the most boring “guy or girl next door” type who may seem really good on paper, but in reality may be a lot less fun, exciting, and fulfilling than you think.

    Stop Inventing Red Flags

    Let me tell you a romantic story. You saw him at work. He caught your eye immediately. Something about his personality just made you take notice. His cute and slightly nerdy style wasn’t your normal thing, but somehow it made you think about him even more. His smile when he said “hi” for the first time gave you butterflies, and you couldn’t stop thinking about him after that.

    However, the next day you heard him say that he isn’t sure what he’s looking for in a partner and isn’t fully sold on the idea of marriage. You can’t be dating someone who has no long term relationship goals, and at 31 you definitely want marriage. So, you decided to quit talking to him and are talking to a guy on Bumble instead, who met most of your filter requirements, but even though you aren’t really attracted to him, he said he’s probably up for marriage, so you’re rolling with it.

    Now that’s romance!

    Ok, yes that last sentence was sarcasm, but hopefully you can see why this way of viewing dating is particularly awful. I totally get observing actual red flags, like if the guy said his last home was Riker’s Island or he’s a polygamist cult leader. However, in this example, the guy didn’t say anything definitive and may actually like our story’s main character, and may even like the idea of marrying her at some point. But, she invented a red flag where there wasn’t one.

    Break Your Pointless Rules

    man lifting woman in silhouette at nightThis is probably the biggest reason dating is awful in 2019. We have created so many “rules” that nobody ever stops to question whether they are useful. You would be shocked how many people (women in particular) will start a sentence with “he is so amazing and I really like him…” and then explain why they can’t date him because he is outside some sort of personal rule they set for themselves (or, more likely, society has told them they should set for themselves).

    Often it’s followed by “…but he’s younger than me” or “…he doesn’t have a college degree.” In many cases, people refuse to date a colleague (even if there is no official company rule against it) or convince themselves that they can’t ask out that cute guy or woman who checks them out at Starbucks every day because “you can’t ask people out who are working.”

    Then, after obeying these rules, they’ll go online and complain they can never meet anyone good and that dating sucks.

    You know what? If an arbitrary rule causes dating to not be fun for you, then ditch the rule. It’s as simple as that. Also, ask yourself who comes up with these rules? The answer is probably people who are miserable!

    A Date Is A Connection, Not A Job Interview

    Another reason dating sucks for most people is because dates themselves are boring events that are more like job interviews than something fun.

    I don’t like dinner dates as first dates for this reason. I’m not a big fan of coffee dates either. Alcohol ones aren’t as bad simply because a few drinks can loosen people up to have some fun. When you get people together to simply sit and talk, most people treat it as a back-and-forth session designed to “interview” the person as to whether they would make a good long-term partner.

    Besides being boring, the main problem with this method is that it is horribly ineffective. Someone who gives perfect answers may make an awful partner, and someone who doesn’t answer perfectly could turn out to actually be the best partner ever. And, that’s assuming you are even asking the right questions!

    So, instead I plan dates with the goal of making an emotional connection and actually having a lot of fun. Yes, you heard me right. Having fun is the goal. And, when you’re having fun, you’re more likely to make a connection.

    Go do something fun, like a concert, miniature golf, or mountain climbing. Run a 5k together. Do something that will be fun and will help you connect. And, if you feel that connection, go on a second date, even if your “find a red flag everywhere” sense is tingling a little.

    Good Enough is Good Enough

    african american coupleYou can make dating fun again by getting rid of insane perfectionism. I once learned about a woman who had a requirement that a guy must have never have “peed outside.” Yes, you read that right. Any guy reading this knows that this probably disqualifies most guys on the planet.

    Where this came from, I have no idea. And it’s pretty extreme, but when dating and choosing a potential partner, remember that “good enough” is good enough. Many people search for perfection and miss great people as they search for “perfect.” They also miss out on great date opportunities, fun nights, and even friends.

    Statistically speaking, perfection doesn’t exist, and if it does, the odds are stacked against you. Looking for a single guy over 6′ who has an athletic build and also has a college degree? Statistically the first requirement alone eliminates nearly 90% of men. The college requirement eliminates about 60%. And if you look at obesity stats, such a guy is even rarer. You start combining these requirements, and you may be looking for a person who is less than 1% of your local population. And, guess what?  You’re competing with a lot of others also wanting him or her, if that person is even single (statistically also unlikely)!

    Get Offline

    social media apps on phoneOnline dating makes a lot of the previous issues worse. Dating is fun when it’s about making a connection to a fun and interesting human being. Online dating makes dating about logical filters, common interests, and evaluating a person based on a few photos and a brief profile. It also encourages dialogue that defaults to boring, fact-based interview questions.

    I believe online dating has a place in the modern dating world. However, I also believe that people use it as a crutch. One night my friends and I were hanging out at a local place. Two women were sitting next to us. They were on Tinder. Despite being around a lot of eligible people having fun, they were loudly and rudely criticizing guys on the app.

    Personally, my friends and I were not interested in these women, but I’m sure some guys in the place would have enjoyed talking to them. So, rather than opening themselves up to that, they chose to look at guys on an app they didn’t even seem to like anyway. I don’t think I have to explain why looking at profiles and hating it instead of talking to people around you isn’t fun!

    Online dating may allow you to swipe in the comfort of your own home, but that’s also a pretty boring way to go about it. So, even if you use online dating, opening yourself up to offline social opportunities and dates will likely make dating more fun and exciting.

    So, if dating is a horrible chore, remember that it doesn’t have to be! So, let’s make dating fun again!

  • Do Some Dating App Companies Even Want You To Get A Date??

    Do Some Dating App Companies Even Want You To Get A Date??

    As part of my business, I keep up on dating apps and what they are up to, simply because so many people use them (or feel they have no choice). And, I have wondered if dating app companies even care if anybody gets a date.

    cell phone appsAt least they used to pretend to, but when I checked out Tinder’s recent articles on their Swipe Life site, they seem to be more interested in helping you enjoy being single. Even their twitter banner right now is “single, not sorry.”

    So, in other words, Tinder is probably so awful at actually getting people dates, that they don’t even make a pretense anymore that it does that. One analysis did find that 70% of users didn’t even go on a date from Tinder. Of course that could be because the same study found that a majority were there to “waste time.”

    I suppose that’s hardly Tinder’s fault, but an app that has limiting algorithms that prioritize attractiveness over engagement (average people rarely get matches), it’s no surprise people use the app to waste time (or in many cases for pretty young women, to get Instagram followers from thirsty guys). Supposedly they are changing this algorithm, but I remain skeptical.

    I often wonder about other dating apps too. Do they really have an incentive to get you a date? You’d be off the app very quickly if the apps were designed to get you a date. Instead, whether intentionally or not, they are designed to get you to swipe or browse more.

    They are like slot machines. Instead of encouraging you to build a connection with one or two people and see where it goes, there is always the possibility of “better” around the corner. I believe this is why so many people ghost or flake from online dating apps. You get in a conversation with someone you like, and then you get a match with someone you think is better, so you stop other conversations. Then, someone you think is even better comes along and you stop that. And, this continues on for ages until you lament you can’t meet anybody good online!!

    woman using online datingIn some ways, we demand this from companies. A lot of people are more comfortable going on a dating app for validation and to waste time (and to see whom they can match with next…that dopamine hit is quite a good feeling) than they are going through the process of matching, connecting, and getting on a date.

    So, it’s hilarious to think that many apps designed to get you dates and relationships rarely do that, yet many of these apps are owned by billion dollar companies (well…most of them are owned by one company – Match Group).

    Some apps are looking to change this. One I like in particular is Cove. It is currently in the early stages of development, so it’s limited in some markets, but it is designed to get people to interact. In fact, if you don’t move from texting to calling (they have a built in Skype type system for that) in a reasonable amount of time, you get unmatched.

    When I talked to the founder of the app recently, he told me users are reporting that this process has brought them closer to people they likely never would have gotten to know had the process been “normal” (texting only).

    So, at least some dating apps are responding to the need that people have to, you know, actually get a date from their apps. Otherwise, there is a decent app called “talking to people in the real world” which works too.

     

  • Survival Mode In Relationships: Don’t Survive, Thrive

    Survival Mode In Relationships: Don’t Survive, Thrive

    annoyed woman texting on the phoneHer jaw was clenched and she started to fidget in her chair. She was furiously typing on her phone, ignoring my attempts at conversation. She told me that we had to cancel our plans later in the evening because she “was a mess.” I knew her drill: she’d go back, get drunk, and stalk his social media. Her friends and I would spend our evening without her.

    In case you didn’t know, she was fighting with her ex, triggered by a text. And, it sent her into a total tailspin, draining her emotional energy and sending her instantly into “survival mode”. Survival mode in relationships and dating can be brutal. She is the best evidence.

    If you’re unfamiliar with it, a good definition of survival mode is this: “an overactive stress response that drives people to obsessively think about painful things…the worst version of brain overdrive you can imagine, all the time. It’s anxiety so powerful that it takes over your life.”

    The brain chemistry behind survival mode originally served an important purpose. When we were in danger of being eaten by a tiger in the wild, we needed an acute stress response to survive. However, when the stress ended, our brains were supposed to return to normal. When that doesn’t happen? Yes, survival mode.

    Writer Joe Dispenza describes the process in his amazing book Becoming Supernatural:

    When [in survival mode], you are training your brain to fire in a disordered, incoherent pattern, which causes it to work very inefficiently. Like a lightning storm in the clouds, different neural networks fire out of order, so your brain works out of sync. The effect is similar to a group of drummers all banging on their skins at the same time but not together or with any rhythm.

    And, if there is one area where people default to survival mode, it’s in dating and relationships, all of which can involve a lot of stress.

    Survival Mode in Long Term Relationships

    I was in a relationship where all I did was fight with my girlfriend. It was constant fighting that never got resolved. So, I’d be mad, annoyed, and stressed, usually for hours after the yelling stopped, especially after she went into the “silent treatment.” And, the cycle would repeat almost daily. It was pure hell. But, for unknown reasons, I stuck around. You can bet I wasn’t living the life I wanted to live!

    If you are constantly stressed by your partner, feel anxious and upset around him or her, and are constantly “on edge” about relationship matters (communication, spending time together, etc.), then you’re living in survival mode. And, you’re experiencing the physical, mental, and emotional damage that comes from constant stress.

    Survival Mode While Single (And Dating)

    couple back to back breakupA friend of mine desperately wants to marry. She decided that she’s too old to be single (she’s 30) and is relentlessly stressed about finding the right guy. This includes matchmaking, online dating, and meeting through friends.

    She is exhausted from going on so many dates and she told me they feel like job interviews. She’s given guys she finds borderline repulsive “a chance” because she is so desperate to marry quickly. The other day, she confessed to me that she hates dating!

    Who can blame her? With that kind of pressure, she’s constantly tired, angry, and stressed. And, the guys can sense it too. She’s turned dating into a chore for all involved and she’s now less likely than ever to even reach her arbitrary goal.

    Survival Mode Due To An Ex

    Like my friend in the opening story, many people are so preoccupied with an ex that they enter into a type of survival mode where the only thing they can think about is the person they used to date. Their past with that person cripples their present and future.

    Sometimes an ex can cloud someone’s entire existence, throwing them into a daily pattern of stress, overthinking, and anxiety. Perhaps you know the examples.

    • Thinking about a person constantly
    • Stalking his or her social media
    • Comparing all new dates to the ex (usually negatively)
    • Running past scenarios in your head (and wishing you did things differently)
    • Withdrawing from positive life events due to stress/trauma (e.g. my friend from paragraph one)

    From Survival Mode To Thriving

    Survival mode is so awful because it takes up so much precious energy and time from your day-to-day living. My friend from the first paragraph experienced great emotional damage and lost out on positive time spent with her friends, all over a stupid text!

    woman sunrise freedom breaking chainsLeaving survival mode and embracing the opposite, thriving, isn’t always easy. It involves letting go and trusting rather than holding on and fearing. It requires “allowing” rather than forcing, reciprocal love rather than control, and, most importantly, faith that venturing into the unknown will result in happiness.

    From a relationship standpoint, this unknown can be a divorce to start over, giving someone a chance who isn’t usually your type, accepting that you don’t have to keep tabs on an ex (e.g. through social media), admitting that maybe your timeline for marriage isn’t reasonable, or even embracing the single life.

    The number one thing keeping people in survival mode is fear of the unknown. Once you start to trust yourself and venture into the unknown, you can let go of your past habits and form new and more helpful ones, habits that let you thrive instead of just survive.

    As Joe Dispenza says (seriously, check out his book Becoming Supernatural):

    To evolve your limited survival emotions, as an alchemist turns base metals like lead into gold, you are taking self-limiting emotions like anger, frustration, guilt, suffering, grief, and fear and turning them into elevated emotions, such as love, gratitude, and joy…—not to mention divinity itself, being moved by the spirit, trusting in the unknown or in the mystic or the healer within you.

    So, look inside yourself and see where you need to embrace thriving, rather than simply surviving, especially in relationships. No one wants to live according to fear, anxiety, and suffering. Embrace the joyful unknown and free your creative energy to invent the life you want, including the relationship of your dreams!

    Please join us on our Facebook page, where we are spending the year focusing on finding love! We’d love to have you join the discussion.