We all make resolutions for the Near Year. Mostly about what we're going to eat, how much we're going to exercise and how many new hobbies we'll start. And they're great things to do. But what about relationship resolutions? What about making a promise to yourself to be a little healthier on the dating front this year? At our biz, NeverLikedItAnyway.com, we hear a lot about dating fails. So here are 10 relationships resolutions that can help make you a little healthier and a lot happier in the love department in 2015.
1. Look Up!
Tinder and Hinge and Match are all great, but don't forget real connections happen in the real world. It might be when you're buying your coffee, walking your dog or waiting at the doctor's surgery. Your 'Meet Cute' could happen anywhere, so be present.
2. Meet Up!
If you are doing the online thing, forget the perpetual flirty ping-pong and just meet up. You'll never know unless you actually meet in person. Why prolong it? Rip off the Band-aid and swap the text time for face time (the real kind).
3. Love Yourself
This is the most important relationship (and the longest) one you will ever have. If you can't get this one right, the other ones are bound to fail. Make sure you make time for number one. Invest in yourself and it will come back tenfold.
4. Forget Your 'Type'
Types are a trap. With so many people working hybrid jobs and having hybrid interests, we're all a bit of everything -- and ruling people out not only shortens your pool, but it shortens your chances. Rather than say something too categoric like "I like doctors," try broadening it to "I like smarts." It doesn't matter in what ways they're clever; the point is they are clever. The rest can be a surprise.
5. Give it More Than One Date
My friend and matchmaker extraordinaire Talia Goldstein at the ThreeDayRule is adamant that one date isn't enough to tell. She says, "You just never know after a first date. There's not enough information to make such a decisive call." So unless it's a complete train wreck of a situation, go back for seconds. And go back with an open mind.
6. Let Go Of Perfection
There aren't really any rules any more. If you have a tightly-held notion of how it should all look... what they should say, how they should act and how it should feel, you're only ever going to be disappointed. Once you let go of all this, you're open to being swept off your feet in ways you never imagined.
7. Don't Obsess
Sometimes dates are great. Sometimes they're horrible. Just let it go and don't paint everything with the same "this is hopeless" brush after you have a bad one. It doesn't mean the next will be bad. Smile, be grateful for the funny side (there always is) and move on.
8. Dress The Part
Treat every day as the day you might meet your perfect person. That little extra love and attention that you put into getting yourself ready to face the day will radiate out through you and change the way you choose to interact with people you meet. In other words, you'll be a total people magnet!
9. Ask!
If you want to go on more dates, ask your friends to keep you in mind for any potentials they know or might meet. There's nothing wrong with asking your friends for help -- that's what they're for, right? Besides, you now have four eyes on the hunt, not two!
10. Have Fun
And if you only take one piece of this advice to heart, let it be this... Have Fun! Fun is infectious. You want to be around people that are having a good time. Do your thing. Live all in and you'll draw into your life someone that matches the best version of yourself. And it doesn't get any better than that.