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Online matchmaking sites are all the rage these days, no longer giving in to the notion that only the weird and pathetic roam them. The stigma of finding love in cyberspace has finally blown over and people from all sides of the globe are using these sites to bring love into their lives. Here are some tips you can use to help ensure that you’re getting the most from your matchmaking profile.
- Be realistic. Of course, first impressions are lasting impressions, but don’t go overboard in putting your best foot forward. You’re looking for a life partner here, not lobbying for a spot in the mayor’s race. Present yourself in a desirable light, yes, but embellish and exaggerate, no. Be honest. Be sincere, but don’t be fake. As eager as you may be to find ‘the one,’ do keep in mind what you are willing to sacrifice to do this. Are you willing to drive 50 miles away to go on a date with someone -- or is finding someone within your community more your cup of tea? Some may argue that they’ll go the distance, literally, if it means that they’ll find Ms. Right. That might be all fine and dandy in the beginning, but a few months of driving back and forth, weekend after long weekend, will begin to seem daunting. With most any online dating site, you have the ability to browse for your potential Missus within a chosen set of parameters.
- Don’t sacrifice too much of yourself. Even if you feel your clock is ticking and you’re running out of time, you still shouldn’t forget your true self in the hopes of finding true love. That being said, one should also realize that there has to be some willingness to be flexible on what type of person you’re looking for. Don’t choose answers in the drop-down menus or check boxes that you think people want to read. Be honest in your likes and dislikes. If you approach the situation as shallow-minded, then chances are, you may connect with someone who fits your physical wants list, but over time, appearances do fade. If you’re looking for a long-term love match, dig deeper into what you truly want in a mate and spend less time fretting over what hair color they have to have.
- Weigh in on what’s really important to you. Does religion play a huge part in your daily life, or are you open to sharing your life with someone who doesn’t regularly attend a place of worship? Maybe you’re a chain smoker and would rather be with someone else who shares this habit (or at least tolerates it), rather than someone who never touches a pack of Marlboros. When it comes to social settings, are you more of a Poker Playing Paul or a Bar Hopping Betty? If you are searching for someone you can potentially share the rest of your life with, finding a partner with social patterns that match yours -- from the beginning -- will spare you arguments about the matter sometime down the road.
- Write it well and if you can’t, then enlist a friend to help. It’s often hard to toot one’s own horn, so if that’s the case for you, rest assured that you’re not alone. Ask a close friend of yours to help write a quip or two about you for your profile. After-all, as the old saying goes, two heads are indeed better than one! If you can enlist the help of a friend of the opposite sex to help, even better! Odds are that working from a realistic and non-judgmental standpoint (that is, someone else’s perspective of you), you’ll get some insightful information you can then use to draw upon.
Writing an online profile does open the door to making yourself vulnerable, but it’s the only honest way for someone to get to know the real you. Come back next Monday for tips on getting the most out of your online personals photo!
09/07/06
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