Three Ways Everyone Can Prepare for Online Dating
Online dating isn’t quite like the dating you’re more likely to be used to. Rather than sitting back, relaxing and seeing how it goes, you’ll find that a lot of people are very determined to do things pretty quickly – which may or may not suit your style and personality. If you want to have the best shot at this that you can, it’s worth thinking about a few of these basic guidelines.
1. Present Yourself Well
It’s entirely true that anyone worth your time will find you attractive no matter what you’re wearing – but that doesn’t mean you should give up your chance to make a good first impression. Make sure your appearance is as clean and tidy as possible, and that you’re wearing well-fitting clothes you look good in. You don’t have to wear a full suit or makeup or a tie or high heels if you don’t want to – but you should at least put in a good effort to look your best for the person you’re meeting up with. It’s well worth doing a little shopping before your first date to see if you can find something new to wear – it’ll help you feel more confident, as well.
2. Consider Your Goals
Different people want different things from relationships. Some find that monogamy doesn’t suit them, and they like to be able to run their relationships a bit more concurrently and see other people throughout; for others, that’s a dealbreaker. Some people are very keen to get married as soon as possible, while others want to take those decisions slowly and still others have no desire to marry at all. Most people love the idea of living with a romantic partner, but there’s a sizable minority who like their personal space and would prefer to keep separate homes. Everyone has their own priorities, and that’s okay – it doesn’t matter what yours are, just so long as you know them.
3. Work On Your Self Esteem
Never fall into the trap of taking the first person who will have you because you don’t feel like you can do any better. That doesn’t mean you should reject people who you could love just in case you can – that’s just as big a fallacy – but if you’re genuinely not happy and don’t feel right about someone you’ve met up with, don’t ever feel as though you must pursue it. For most people, this is a self-esteem problem; it’s worth reminding yourself that you’re worth happiness and deserve someone who is right for you.