It’s no exaggeration to say that dating is really hard. There are so many things that can go wrong, it seems next to impossible to get it right. You’re always just one wrong thing away from ruining your chances for a second date. These mistakes can be made by both men and women. The best thing to do is just keep the pitfalls in mind when you get together with someone who can turn into your mate.
1. Don’t expect one person to pay
The days of a man taking out a woman and footing the entire bill are almost gone. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it, though. Plenty of guys feel that it’s their duty to pay for the date and will feel inadequate if they don’t. The key to it all is simply not expecting things to go one way or another. Both the man and the woman should make moves to pay for the date. If the man declines and wants to pay himself, that has to be fine. If the woman declines and wants to pay herself, that has to be fine as well. Offering is the most important thing to do.
2. Turning an outing into a date
There was a time when pretty much all dating started in a club or a barroom. Men and women would go out with the intention of finding someone to spend time with. Those things don’t really happen anymore. A guy going out and looking for a girl will most likely end in him trying to break up a group of women out for fun. That’s why it’s best to set up your dates in advance.
3. Not being prepared
No one ever knows how far a date is going to go. That’s why It’s always so important to be prepared for anything that can happen. Nothing is worse than making your way home with someone only to realize you don’t have any protection. It’s going to be next to impossible for the both of you to control yourselves at this point. That will lead to poor decisions that can have life altering repercussions. Simply keeping a condom somewhere on your person will let you go all the way while keeping yourself safe.
4. Being on your phone
There isn’t a single thing that turns someone off like their date being on their phone the whole time. It’s an immediate mood killer and will ensure that you don’t make it to your second date. If things aren’t going well between you, simply end the date and move on. There’s no sense in wasting hours together if you’re just going to be on your phone. If things are going well, keep your phone in your pocket. It doesn’t have any place in your date unless you’re using it to share something with the person in front of you.
5. Don’t talk about your ex
The golden rule that you must obey on a date is to keep your mouth shut about your ex. No one wants to hear about it. No one wants to feel like they can’t live up to the other person in your life. No one wants to feel like the second fiddle in your band. Don’t tell your date why it went wrong or how long you were together. None of it matters. Be in the moment with your date and be prepared for anything that happens. That’s really what it’s all about.