People often start the New Year with ambitious resolutions. Probably the most common ones are to lose weight, quit smoking, or give up drinking. It only takes one cookie, cigarette, or glass of wine to break those resolutions. We’re now one week into the New Year—have you already broken your New Year’s resolution? The key to keeping resolutions is to accept the fact that you’ll probably “fall off the wagon” but you have to forgive yourself and persevere. This can be particularly tough if your New Year’s resolution is to find love.
A friend of mine decided 2010 is going to be the year for her to meet Mr. Right. She’s been single for several years and has had a few relationships along the way, but the last one was over a year ago. She got a jump start in December by going to a singles event, something she hadn’t done in quite a while. It was all part of her plan to put herself out there, to give herself more opportunities to meet Mr. Right. After being at the singles event for a little while, she couldn’t help but think about that saying, “it’s like riding a bicycle.” It really did come pretty easily and she found herself chatting it up with several men. By the end of the night, she had given her number to a couple of men. None really struck her as “Mr. Right” but she was determined to be open-minded and positive.
One called the very next day. Good, none of that nonsense about waiting three days to call—he already scored a point! It took several days to coordinate things but finally plans were made to meet. YAY—the first date of 2010. She approached the evening with cautious optimism but as soon as they met at the appointed time and place, her heart sank. “I didn’t think he was a magazine cover, but wasn’t he taller with more hair?” she wondered. “And what’s with that outfit?”
She was determined to remain positive as they sat down to have a drink. While she found him pleasant enough, it became quickly apparent that this was not a match. Aside from the complete lack of chemistry, she found him to be a bit boring and arrogant. She stuck it out for a couple of hours and called it a night.
Strike one! Memories of horrible dates flashed before her eyes. Did she really want to put herself through this again? She commiserated with a newly single friend. Both agreed that it was much too early to give up. After all, it was only the first week of 2010 and there are 51 more weeks to go. She resolved to stick with it. Both women are going to yet another singles event next week. I can’t wait to hear about her second date of 2010.
