How to be More Confident When Dating /
Dating can be a daunting experience. Fear of rejection, insecurities, getting hurt and saying the wrong thing are enough to put anyone off dating, and give you a few insecurities about approaching people.
However, it can also be really fun, if you take a brave step and enter yourself back into the dating game. To help you make this jump, we’ve listed a few handy tips on how to boost your confidence levels – remember nothing is more attractive than confidence!
1. Take your time It’s impossible to become confident in yourself over night. It takes work! Take it slowly when you first get back into the world of dating – rushing into anything will usually result in ending up in a sticky situation, which definitely won’t do your confidence any good.
2. Get fit Yes, it’s difficult to choose the gym over a night on the sofa, but nothing will boost your confidence more than feeling comfortable in your own skin. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean loosing weight, but it does mean staying fit and healthy. Whether it’s a yoga class once a week or a power walk with a friend, you will feel a whole lot more energized and ready to face the dating game head on!
3. List your pros And be honest! List what you like about yourself, what you’re good at, what you think your friends/family like about you, and remind yourself of them everyday.
4. Eat healthily Taking care of your body is what helps build confidence from the inside out. You don’t just want to appear confident, you want to BE confident. We all go crazy on the ice cream once in a while, but doing it everyday will give you that sluggish feeling that doesn’t exactly give you the ‘get up and go find a date’ vibe.
5. Change routines It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. We all have our little routines that we follow year in and year out, so no wonder we get a little de-motivated and lack confidence. Always stay in on a Friday with a curry? Go speed-dating instead. Spend Saturdays doing the weekly food shop? Do it online in 15 minutes and go horse back riding. Change it up and be spontaneous!
6. Fly solo! Are you one of those people that’s only happy when you’re around other people? Yes? Then we need to kick that habit. You need to learn to enjoy your own company – not all the time (that’s being a hermit) but at least once a week. Take a walk on Sunday to get the papers and sit in a café for a morning. Go to the cinema and catch a movie, or wander through a museum. You’ll soon start to enjoy this ‘me-time’ – and rely a lot less on people to provide you with entertainment. This will come across to potential dates, as you will appear confident with your self.
7. Start a new hobby Not only is it a great way to meet new people, but it will give you a new skill to add to your growing list of ‘pros’! Everyone has one thing they would secretly like to have a stab at – now’s the time to try! Pottery, Spanish lessons, martial arts, you name it. Plus, it gives you a great conversation topic with potential dates!
8. Keep up with current events Staying on top of current events is another great conversation starter. Even if you’re not an avid reader, just reading the Sunday edition, or online news sites, will give you a whole heap of info about what is going on in the world, what is affecting your local area or the things you care about, from the environment to sport to politics. You’ll feel more confident when chatting, and you’ll be surprised how much use having this knowledge to hand will come when on dates!
9. Set yourself goals Whether it’s a goal for your new hobby, or a target weight, or to meet at least one new potential date a week, we all respond well to goals. It will give you something to strive for, and will give you a huge sense of confidence and satisfaction when you reach it.
10. Be your biggest fan! The worst thing you can do is be your biggest critic – there is nothing more unattractive than someone who constantly puts themselves down and wallows in self pity. Focus on your strengths and the exciting new things you are doing with your life, and don’t be afraid to big yourself up!