Change Your Outlook and Your Luck Will Change
Six Ways to Maximize Your Fun
1. Approach dating as not just looking for an important relationship, but as enjoying life.
2. View dating as a chance to increase your circle of friends.
3. Find innovative and unusual places to meet people. Join a club, volunteer or take up a sport.
4. Take one positive aspect away from each date. For example, “I liked his values, her sense of style or his humor.” Pick a quality or characteristic that you would like in your future mate. This benefits you, even if you aren’t attracted to that person.
5. Become the person you’d like to date. Use your experiences as an opportunity for personal growth.
6. Embrace your singledom. You have the freedom to do anything you want, meet everyone you want and learn everything you can about yourself.
The point is to keep dating light and casual, especially early on. On a first date, go out to lunch, drinks or brunch and split the check. This keeps the expectations and pressure lower. If you decide to see each other again, you know your date is interested in you. It’s that simple.
As you get to know each new person, you’ll have an opportunity to “try each other out” and see if the relationship might work. Pay attention to what you’re discovering. As you progress on your dating journey, you’ll be exposed to new types of people and new ideas. Even if a date doesn’t
develop into a full-blown relationship, you’re still growing and learning as a human being, which makes life interesting and exciting.
An alternative approach to dating
10 August 2008 By Áine Maguire
Anne-Marie Cussen, a psychology postgraduate who had done her thesis on alternative dating methods, was looking for something different to do when she spotted an ad in The Sunday Business Post.
It was offering the franchise opportunity for an Irish branch of US specialized dating agency It’s Just Lunch (IJL). Now, she is celebrating her first year at the helm of the Irish venture.
IJL, which markets itself as a ‘‘first date’’ specialist for professionals between the ages of 20 and 60, was launched here in May 2007.
It has arranged almost 5,000 first dates in its first year of business. About 50 per cent of its clients have gone on to have second dates and some have been together for more than a year.
‘‘A lot of our clients are people at a senior level in business who are not in a position to date colleagues or clients,” said Cussen. ‘‘We take what we do very seriously and spend a lot of time establishing exactly what people are looking for.”
The first meeting with potential clients is, according to Cussen, a two-way process - as it would be in a business venture. ‘‘They must decide if they want to use our services and we must decide if we want to have them as a client.”
IJL conducts an in-depth interview with the client to build a detailed personal profile, and identify their requirements and preferences. They also verify all clients’ identity and ages through their driving license or passports.
A fee of €799 guarantees 14 introductions in the following 12-month period. If you meet someone you like early on, you can put your remaining introductions on hold for up to one year.
Based on the person’s profile and preferences, the company matches people who appear suited. It also organizes the time and place of the meetings - and if lunchtime doesn’t suit, alternatives such as drinks after work can be arranged.
Although IJL does not exchange clients’ full names or contact details, the person they are meeting will be given some details. These include age, height, eye and hair color, profession and information about their interests and hobbies. After the first meeting, the couple can then decide if they want to exchange personal contact details.
IJL is based in Dublin but has satellite locations in Cork, Galway and Belfast. For more details, visit www.itsjustlunchireland.com.
Dating Trends of Singles…
According to a survey by It’s Just Lunch, 80% of singles still believe that a relationship is more important than a career and over 90% of singles want to get married someday.
“Singles today are more proactive about meeting other singles then they were ten years ago. We have found that singles are using many different avenues to meeting that special someone." “52% of women and 48% of men have used a dating service, compared to only 8% over a decade ago.”
Over the past decade while the goal of meeting someone special has remained the same, the age singles believe they will tie the knot has changed.  In the 1990’s, 54% of single women believed they would marry in their early to mid 30’s; 59% of single men believed they would marry in their mid 40’s. Today, the timing has reversed. 56% of single women believe they will marry in their late 30’s or 40’s, while 54% of single men believe they will marry in their 30’s.
Dress to Impress
Once you’ve agreed on a time and place for your date, it’s time to figure out what to wear.
Though clothes can never be a substitute for self-confidence or a positive attitude, they can go a long way in making a good impression and give you a head start on landing a second date.
What’s most important about dressing for a first date is wearing something that you feel comfortable in, both physically and mentally. Just reach for your favorite confidence-boosting outfit that makes you feel like a million bucks.
If you don’t have one, get one immediately. Every single should have at least one outfit that they look and feel amazing in. You should be able to put it on at any time and know that you look great and feel confident and sexy in the clothes. Pick out something classic that you can wear to any type of date. You want an outfit that can be dressed down for a more casual date, or dressed up for a more formal date.
