Читать книгу It’s Just a Date: A Guide to a Sane Dating Life - Greg Behrendt - Страница 29

And Don’t Give It Up For

Every Tom, Dick And Agnes

That Comes Along

Dating someone new is always exciting. The rush of feelings you get accompanied by the desire to spend every minute together basking in the yummy gooey feelings of “first like” are awesome. It’s like you’ve entered this Utopian little existence where the two of you are in this bubble totally connected by these bursting emotions. You talk constantly, see each other daily, run home from work to get to him five minutes earlier, blow out your friends, go into work late, leave early, skip your yoga class and everything is great … until it all bites you in the ass. When you give up your life to devote all of your time and energy to a new romance you suffocate the other person. The feelings go from being “Wow, she’s amazing” to “I can’t get enough of her” to “She’s a little needy and wants to spend every second with me” to “I can’t get rid of her” to “How can I avoid her?”

You can feel the shift when someone is willing to give you all of their attention, and though at first it’s flattering, shortly thereafter it becomes burdensome. It’s those shifts that cause you to back off, or to have someone back off from you. We’ve all done it or felt it. People don’t want you to give up your life for them, even if they think they do at the beginning. Those that do want you to give yourself up for them are the ones that later will stalk you.

Many dating books, experts, websites, crystal balls suggest that you appear busy, ignore phone calls, pretend you have plans and generally play a game called “I don’t have time for you, please fall in love with me.” And while this may appear like sound or at least strategically sound advice, it is ultimately encouraging you to start off your relationship by being dishonest and has the faint smell of something … what is it? Oh, right, manipulation. That’s how all of the great love stories start, right? Wrong. So why does it seem like the game of “I don’t have time for you, please fall in love with me” would work? Well, it has a certain logic to it, being that you are hard to get and thusly more desirable, and because everybody wants what they can’t have it makes sense that if you’re unavailable then they’ll want you more. But pretending you have a life is just pure game-playing and misery. Well, then, what is your magnificent suggestion, guys? Ready? Wait for it … GET A LIFE SO YOU WON’T HAVE TO PRETEND YOU HAVE ONE. Actually be busy. Have unbreakable plans with your friends because they are as important as your love life. Be on time for work because it matters to you. Don’t bail on your responsibilities, family, dreams, values or well-being for the next Jett, Kingston or Maddox that comes along.

People like a little mystery. People like to get to know you over a period of time and they like to think about you and wonder what you might be doing. Wonder why you might have to leave early, why you like your job, why your friends are so important or why you’re so close to your family and think, “Wow, she’s got other priorities than me and a very cool life.” Having a life that’s important to you and not dumping your friends, job, plans, interests and current schedule for someone new will serve BOTH of you well.

You must have a life! A full one that does not stop every time a potential boyfriend or girlfriend comes into the fray. And if you don’t have one you need to ask yourself why that is, and what the f*#k you’re waiting for? Seriously. There are people that live lives that people admire and there are people that watch people live those lives. Why are you being a watcher instead of a doer? It’s actually quite simple to get a life. For instance, let’s say it’s Thursday, and you don’t have plans for Friday but you think the person you have your sights on might call to ask you out. The old you would have just waited to see if they called, then be disappointed if they didn’t and have missed the boat on whatever opportunities you might have had besides a date. But the new you, being the doer that you are, will not sit by the phone but instead will make any variety of plans that will enrich your life or create an interesting experience to retell over coffee, like meting up with old friends, trying a new restaurant, going to see a great new band at that club you’ve never been to or attending an art opening. By getting out in the world and doing things instead of waiting for someone to take you into their world you become a person who is living a fuller life. Are you not more interesting when you have experiences to share? Are you not more appealing if you have events to talk about? Are you not more fascinating if you have a valuable life instead of a disposable one?

People are attracted to winners and movement. We love and are inspired by people who move gracefully through this world with a sense of purpose. People who don’t ask permission to live their lives but actually just do it regardless of what others think. When you have a full life, not only will you attract the things you want but you’ll also still get to have the things you have.