How to Get Out of Your Online Dating Comfort Zone This Month

online dating

Online dating can be an adventure sometimes. Being a Catholic Single can feel lonely and weird. In the times I have navigated online dating as a Catholic single I have had some success stories. But I’ve also had some plain crazy and awful experiences. 

I have had a guy come forty-five minutes late (yup, that’s right!) to the date he asked me on. Major eye roll.

Another guy did not take my gentle “no thank you” invite to dinner very graciously and responded by sending me harassing text messages wishing me “better luck with your next sugar daddy.”

Later on, I went on a fun coffee date that (in the same night) turned into tickets to see Carrie Underwood live in concert.

There was another great first coffee date that turned into more dates, which has led me into currently developing a great relationship with a Catholic man I met online.

In my life, online dating has paid off.  If I hadn’t taken the time and effort to step outside my comfort zone, I may have never met the great guy I am currently dating.

We are almost a full month into this new decade.  Maybe you feel excited and hopeful as you begin to embark on this new year. Some of you may feel frustrated or disappointed from your experience of trying online dating.

Regardless of where you fall along that spectrum, you do not have to stay in the same place. You can try something different, take a new approach. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking on how to step outside your online dating comfort zone this month. 

Upgrade to a premium Catholic Singles membership

catholic singles

Let’s just be honest, we all like the free things in life.

From your birthday Starbucks drink on your special day to samples at the grocery store, who does not like getting free things from time to time?

However, sometimes we need to pay to get more out of an experience in life.

Take online dating for instance. Free profiles are a great place to start when giving online dating a try. And Catholic Singles is the only established Catholic dating app to have free messaging with your mutual favorites. But if you want to seriously meet and date someone, it might be time to upgrade. 

Being a paid member to sites like Catholic Singles will open up the dating pool much more. You’ll unlock unlimited messaging, have free access to exclusive member events, and your profile will have preferred placement in search results. 

We all have to start somewhere but take it a step further this month. Be brave and try the paid membership, even if you only try it for a few months.

You might be pleasantly surprised by how it plays out!

Go on a lot of dates 

dating

You know how you get good practice at dating? By going on dates.

Practice and learn the art of what it means to be a healthy, confident dater.

Have fun, be yourself, and don’t close yourself off to any one person too soon.

Feeling discouraged and frustrated with your current online dating experience? Consider downloading a few more dating appsThis can help open up your pool of people more which can hopefully lead to more dates.

In my experience, I found going on lots of dates with different people gave me practice at really discerning what is most important in a serious relationship, while also learning how to trust my gut more in the process. 

Have a weekly goal to message a certain number of people 

happy woman

When I tried online dating, I gave myself a certain amount of time each day to go on my various sites and apps to search people, respond to messages, and send messages to other men.

When my alarm went off, I closed everything down and turned off the computer. Afterwards, I went back to living a rich, full life even if it was just me.

Set a goal for yourself to reach out to a number of people who are on your dating sites of choice. You can base that number off how many dating sites you are on, or just pick a number that feels manageable for your life.

Applying this principle for myself was helpful because it was something I could actually do to try and meet people without becoming overly focused and obsessed on meeting someone.

Set some dating goals for yourself this month!

Step outside of your comfort zone.

Be brave.

Let God surprise you, because you just may have your socks blown off in the process.

Are there any unique ways you have gotten outside your online dating comfort zone?

Ready to meet someone who shares your values and dreams this month? Download the Catholic Singles online dating app! We’ll help connect you to other single Catholics and you’ll get to message them for FREE!