5 Dating Rules you Should Never Break

No one said dating was easy, but follow these five rules and you'll enjoy a richer experience as a single person.

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When it comes to your love life, do you wish there was a rule book? While The Rules are so last century, a new dating handbook has yet to be created in the new millennium.

So how do you know the dos and don’ts of dating? The truth is there are no hard and fast rules, but the following guidelines should help you navigate the tricky terrain known as your dating life.

Rule #1: Listen to Your Gut

Whether you’re on a date, communicating with someone you meet online, or flirting with a cutie you meet in the flesh, it’s important to pay attention and listen to your gut. If a potential date’s actions or words set off an internal alarm system, you owe it to yourself to pay attention and act accordingly. These alarms can be both good and bad. For example, if you’ve met someone online and they seem interesting, then you talk to them on the phone and they sound completely different (in a negative way), you may decide not to meet them in person. A positive example would be if you were on a date with someone and they seemed nervous but well intentioned, your gut might tell you to give them a second chance. By going on a second date, you’ll gain a better understanding of who they really are and if you’d like to see them again.

Rule #2: Pay Attention to Red Flags

Like those internal alarms that alert you to your gut feelings, you also have an alarm system to alert you to red flags. Oftentimes this alarm system is turned way down. As a result, we often ignore red flags and find ourselves getting involved with inappropriate partners because we’re not paying attention. To become a truly successful single in the new millennium, you owe it to yourself to become a red flag specialist. That means paying attention to red flags as they are presented to you on dates. An example of a red flag would be if you found yourself on a date with someone who could not stop talking about their ex. They may be a fantastic person, and eventually make a great partner, but right now they’re not ready. Your job is to pay attention to that red flag and not pursue them.

Rule #3: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

During the course of your dating life you will most likely find yourself on a date with someone whose actions speak much louder than their words. Maybe they’re attentive and chivalrous to you, but treat the waiter, bartender, and/or valet poorly. Or maybe they claim they’re ready for a long-term relationship, but their wandering eye tells you otherwise. To get the most out of your dating life, it’s important to understand that actions speak louder than words. When someone’s actions are contrary to their words, this is not only a red flag, it’s gut-check time. By paying attention and screening out potential partners whose actions don’t match their words, you cut down on wasted dating time and make it that much easier to attract potential partners worth your time and energy.

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SWFL

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I meet someone on eharmoney and everything seemed great! ...Until I asked about his relationship with his ex and he told me he could never say no to her (still). I understand being friends but felt this was too much.

- August 28, 2008 05:51 PM

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I've watched too many women lose opportunites with guys because their issues clouded these rules and the guys never really had a prayer..... Before you put these rules and guidelines into action, make sure your past is not getting in the way, otherwise you'll stay in the same single pattern for a very long time. Take a look at why something bothers you, or illicits a negative reaction. And if in doubt, instead of heading for the hills, address it, the prospect may actually listen you and step it up, change his/her behavior, get themselves together, whatever....

Instead of "Red Flags" non-negotiables anyone????

- August 26, 2008 08:25 PM

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If and when you are in an intimate relationship with someone new and have discussed birth control, whether or not you want children, more children, any children and have agreed upon birth control practices, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT play games that could possibly lead to pregnancy! Some men seem to WANT TO TRAP WOMEN!

- August 26, 2008 09:48 AM

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