Dating Phase

Picking up from last week, we'll continue exploring the dating phase, and look closer at how you feel and act while it's happening.

1. What are your ideal dates? Casual coffee, a hike, or a romantic dinner? Do you tend to suggest the date yourself, or do you usually wait to see what the other person proposes?
2. Participating in real time. Instead of only realizing afterward that a date wasn’t great, how do you signal in the moment that you’re having a good time, or that you’re bored and want to shift the topic or the venue? Are you actively steering the date, or just going along with it?
3. How do you sense if a date is going well? Do you check in with the other person, or just read the vibe? What’s a green flag that instantly makes you more interested? What’s a silly, irrational deal breaker you know doesn’t really matter but somehow still does?
4. Closing thought: do you know what you’re looking for? Underneath all of this is a quieter question, do you know yourself, what makes you happy, your goals, the kind of life you want to live, and what actually matters to you in a partner, whether that’s assertiveness, kindness, being socially engaged, or being a good listener.
5. Dealing with disappointment. When the date didn't go well, or the other person declines the next date, how do you deal with the disappointment? How do you bounce back? Do you talk to friends? Do you remind yourself this is just one date out of countless ones ahead?