Summer can be a great time to take some (calculated) risks and venture outside your online dating comfort zone. This summer, we’re encouraging you to do something new and exciting in your dating life. Don’t know where to start? Here are some dating risks that are absolutely worthwhile
1. Meet up with the person you’re messaging
Meeting someone in person seems like a risk anytime you’re on an online dating site, but it’s an especially good risk for the summer. There are plenty of events and destinations you can meet at that will help take the pressure off of a first date. Plus, conversation in the summer can take more interesting routes as you talk about places you’re traveling to or the things you’re going to do as the weather gets warmer.
More events and more conversation topics mean more communication. This is risky because you might actually hit it off! But you could learn that the person you’re messaging really isn’t as good of a match for you as previously thought. However, either outcome will set you up for a healthier dating life.
2. Text them later
The days are longer, which means the light sticks around longer, too. That can mean that people go to bed later. Take advantage of that later bedtime and text or call someone later than you normally would.
Why is this an online dating risk? It extends the viable hours for talking, allowing you to be more available and asking the other person to be more available for you, too. More availability means that you’re willing to invest more, which can be frightening! But it’s also a very good thing when done intentionally.
Let your match know that he or she is someone you want to invest in. Of course, your match could decide that this isn’t something he or she is ready for quiet yet. But that can free you up to find someone for whom the feeling is mutual.
3. Go to a wedding without a date
No one wants to go to a wedding alone, at least that’s what pop culture wants us to believe. Going to a wedding without a date is made out to be depressing. But this isn’t necessarily true! Weddings are a great place to celebrate people and a life-long commitment to love, and that can extend to the guests in a different way.
This summer, make a new friend at the next wedding you attend solo. Weddings are a fantastic place to meet a diverse group of people. Opening yourself up to new and different people is extremely helpful in dating. It can open your eyes to possibilities you may not have thought of before.
Next time you’re invited to a wedding, don’t sweat getting a date. Start with making a new friend when you get there. This includes asking a bridesmaid or groomsman to dance! Even if you only end up meeting one new person, that’s one person you didn’t know before and one new perspective on life to revel in.
4. Reconnect, rekindle, restart
Did you miss out on meeting with someone you found interesting because of conflicts of schedule or because too much time had passed before you were ready to take a dive? Well, send a message and catch up. You never know! Especially with stay at home orders, life has been difficult. Send a message to someone you missed out on and see what happens.
Maybe you had an old match that things just didn’t pan out with. If he’s still your match and it doesn’t look like anything else has panned out for him either, send him another message. It’s possible that the timing just wasn’t right for you two before and might be now. It could be that you’d make great friends even if a relationship wouldn’t be feasible.
In either situation, pressing the restart button can be a helpful tool in strengthening your confidence and amiability and could even result in a relationship. This is worth the risk!
5. Brush up your profile for the summer
You want your profile to be up-to-date and reflect you in the best way possible. It’s a risk because you might just get more matches or messages! Pretty good problem to have, though.
You’ll want to revamp your profile again at the end of summer, too–summer brings changes and you’ll want the world (all your potential matches) to know.
The most important thing to remember when doing this, though, is to be authentic. Don’t put on a show. Instead, show yourself. You want to present you to the Catholic dating world, and not a fake version of yourself. Just like you want someone else’s profile to reflect him or herself accurately so you can start any sort of relationship on solid ground, do the same for your possible matches.
Ready to Hit Publish on Your Online Dating Profile? Read this Checklist First
Don’t leave your Catholic dating life in the dust this summer. Dating doesn’t have to be “safe” to be good–taking calculated, intentional risks will open you to the wonder of other people and could have some pretty spectacular results.
It’s your time to shine! Step into the (summer) sun and inject some new life into your dating world.
