How I Improved My Love Life With Blind Dates! (Really)

I know. If you’ve come from my blog, I’m sure a lot of you are thinking, “Improve my love life with blind dates…not so much, Liz.” I hear you-Blind dates are nerve-racking, potentially time wasting and consuming and basically, a crap shoot. What does that even mean? Who cares. HOWEVER, I’ve been on my fair share of blind dates this summer and here are 4 ways my love life, and life in general has improved because I’ve taken a chance. My horizons have been broadened and if I do say so myself, I am quite the conversationalist these days…

1. I can now talk to ANYONE, about ANYTHING, ANYTIME.
I’m fairly shy, (Well, until you get to know me and then I won’t shut the hell up) and I never bothered to master the art of “small talk” or “chit chat.” I’m BUSY. Since I’ve been doing all this blind dating, I am now the master of small talk. This doesn’t just mean that I can carry on a conversation with my date (What do you do, hobbies, family, stab me in the face), but it means that I’m way more comfortable talking to men I see out and about. Cute guy at Starbucks? Now I’m not too shy to ask him what his poison is. OH yeah…I totally used that line in Starbucks the other day. It worked.

2. You Stop Caring.
In a good way. So you’ve built up this person you’re going on a date with in your head to be the end all be all man of your dreams. You get there…and for whatever reason, he’s just not. Or the chemistry just isn’t there. As you keep dating, you begin to realize there will always be another date, another guy, another chance…so sit through it, drink your wine, be friendly and ON TO THE NEXT.

3. You Surprise Yourself.
By definition, going on a blind date is somewhat of a risk. Is this guy going to be all his online dating profile cracked him up to be? Or maybe, if you’re being set up by friends, what if they are completely wrong and you guys have zero in common? What if, what if! Hold up, Negative Nancy, because I’ve had some amazing blind dates. The best ones are usually the ones I think will go absolutely nowhere-the ones I have to text my friends or ask my sister, “should I go out with so and so tonight because I don’t feel like doing my hair, it’ll probably just be a waste of time anyway!” And of course they tell me to get my ass off the couch and GO…because you never know.

4. You Are Open To Love-Which Attracts Love.
I’m a firm believer that while things happen when you aren’t looking for them, you also can’t be completely shut off to the possibilities of love-THAT won’t work either. Plus, you get boring and stop doing your hair and start watching too much Law and Order. TRUST ME ON THAT ONE. Accepting blind dates, online dating or being set up by friends keeps you out there, gets you excited, and while not every date you go on is going to end in butterflies, it only takes one.

It only takes one.