The first few dates with someone can be some of the most agonizing moments in your adult life. Between battling the butterflies, trying to make a good impression, and road testing the new shoes that were too cute to pass up but hurt like hell, your awkward-factor is so high that you\u2019re basically catapulted back to middle school. Part of succeeding is hoping for the best, but being prepared for the worst. To help you out here are four common dating fails, and ways to avoid them at all costs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dating Fail #1: \u201cME TOO!\u201d<\/strong> It\u2019s tempting to fib about your interests because common interests are a great way to fuel a first date. But admitting your white lies is a great way to bring a fifth date to a screeching halt, so don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If after your first couple dates, you find that you don\u2019t have much in common, but you\u2019re still REALLY into the person you\u2019re seeing, take the opportunity to learn. Ask questions and challenge the other person to try a few things you\u2019re into. The process of searching for common ground can be enlightening, and actually really fun. (If people were content being with someone exactly like them, no one would be in relationships, and this website wouldn\u2019t get any traffic.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dating Fail #2: Blank Slate Syndrome<\/strong> Beautiful people make everyone nervous and there is nothing more harrowing than a person with a dreamy face asking what you\u2019re into and you sitting there frozen like a Barbie doll. What do I do!? I know I do things! What are they!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a slippery slope. If you blank, you start to doubt you\u2019re interesting at all. And that\u2019s just not true; you\u2019re totally great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much like a job interview, if you\u2019re not feeling very confident, you can come up with some stock answers pre-date, as long as they\u2019re genuine. If you don\u2019t think the things you\u2019re into make for good conversation, or you blank on the spot, bring up something you\u2019re interested in learning about. \u201cSo, what do you do for fun?\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve been dying to learn how to roll sushi, but I haven\u2019t found a class.\u201d See? It\u2019s not so hard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dating Fail #3: Leaning on the Crutch<\/strong> Leaning on the crutch means never stepping out of that comfort zone, and therefore not getting to know someone (or letting them get to know you) on a deeper level. If every date you\u2019ve been on starts on the Tequila train, you\u2019ll have lots of fun, but won\u2019t build a connection past knowing your date\u2019s favorite chasers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re afraid there won\u2019t be enough of a spark between you two when you don\u2019t have the relief of a group of friends, or when you\u2019re not spending your time together staring silently at a movie screen, or when you don\u2019t have Captain Morgan as a chaperone, take some baby steps. If you start out with a crew, ask the person you\u2019re into to hang at the bar with you and help you pick out a cocktail so you get some alone time. If you\u2019re dating someone and you\u2019re constantly meeting up for happy hours, invite them to a food and wine pairing so you two can converse about what you\u2019re learning and see what you look like in the daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dating Fail #4: Planning the Wedding<\/strong> Dating has this weird way of turning us all into crazy love detectives. Getting a text message now involves assembling a panel of our closest friends and discussing meaning, implied meaning, reading between the lines, surveying the audience, and writing an 80-page dissertation on the social implications of the winky face emoticon (he didn\u2019t use the emoji, what does that mean!?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard not to get carried away, but the best thing to do is have patience and mirror the amount of attention the person gives you. What do you do with all that other time and attention? Do NOT plan the wedding. Don\u2019t wait around for the call or the text. Don\u2019t turn down plans in hopes that they\u2019ll ask you out. Instead, do awesome things with fun people. Make the most of your time, because you\u2019re a fun person and ANYONE who manages to carve out some time with you is very lucky. Also, Instagram all the fun stuff so the person you\u2019re into can see. Knowing that you\u2019re not waiting around for them sends the message that you\u2019re not at home moping, which takes the pressure off of both of you AND makes you a hot commodity. Live your best life, and the right person will hop on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019ve made one, or all of these mistakes, (like me, how do you think I wrote this?) just know that dating mishaps are a part of life, and for every seemingly mortifying misstep you\u2019ve got on the books, someone out there is calling out the wrong name during sex, or tucking their dress into their underwear, or misjudging their limit of vodka martinis and throwing up out the window of an Uber. The truth is, none of these have to be a deal-breaker, and when you find the right person, they\u2019ll be by your side through it all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ever said, “Me too!” on a date? You could be in for a #datingfail. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":13712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[892],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-date-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWe all love meeting someone we have a ton in common with, but common interests do not a love connection make. If there\u2019s someone across the table from you who is rambling off a laundry list of interests you don\u2019t care that much about don’t reply with, \u201cOMG, me too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOkay when it comes down to it, the first few dates are a LOT like the job interview process. And we\u2019ve all been in the position where someone asks us what some of our interests are outside of our job, and we can\u2019t think of a damn thing we do outside of watching bad reality TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOften times, when we meet someone and find out that we\u2019re interested in them, it happens in a setting that takes the social pressure off of us. A couple examples include meeting up at a bar and letting a couple drinks loosen you up, or only hanging out with a group of friends so that all the attention doesn\u2019t fall solely on you. It\u2019s a great way to meet someone and feel like you can be yourself, but eventually, if it\u2019s going to get real, you have to get to know each other one-on-one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIt\u2019s been three dates and you\u2019re really into your person. And that\u2019s great. But if they\u2019re not on their knees kissing your feet and sending you flowers every day, it\u2019s very important to pace yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n