Here are 5 things to know to have a happy dating life

Parents please teach your children this.

I’ve spent the last few days across social media and I have to keep reiterating versions of this. Its saddening.

Look, you don’t “get someone to like you”. There are 4 or things to know to have a happy dating life:

1) Get hobbies and interests.

Like more than one, and at least a few that have to do with going to places other people are. Look its OK to be into fashion and enjoy consuming media. But that cant be your main focus. If your on a date and don’t have other interests to talk about, don’t be so surprised that the only people who want to go on a second date are the ones who will treat you like an object. Put down the Fashion Mag and literally pick any other magazine off the shelf. You may never learn how to perfectly wear (latest fashion item). But you will read about something to make you an interesting person.

If you often find yourself Bored, then you may be a boring person. Cultivate more interests.

Your boy-friend or girl-friend should be your friend. Now pop culture has done a number on girls. If you are to believe movies and TV shows, girls are interested in talking about Fashion, and boys. What is she then going to talk about with her boyfriend. If however she meets someone at an archery range, they have things to talk about.

2) Learn how to be wrong.

Now that you have started having all these hobbies and interests, you are probably developing opinions. You are wrong on some of them. Everyone has incorrect opinions sometimes. Learn how to decide what types of information will sway your opinion. Learn to accept being wrong, and to accept others being wrong. And NO saying “we’ll just agree to disagree” doesn’t count. Thats basically saying my mind is closed to the possibility I’m wrong, and I am not smart enough to find a way to explain it to you. That is not to say you have to fight every battle. You can for instance decide, I think your wrong on how to hang the toilet paper but don’t care enough about the issue to discuss it.

3) Own your word

How do you keep from looking wisshy-washy now that you’ve accepted that you can be wrong and are able to change your mind? By owning your word in every other way. Make a habit of not making promises. Because when you make a promise, you keep it. If you promise to wash someones car, and Christ returns, You have to tell Christ to put judgment day on hold, because you have things to do. If you promise to be at your nieces birthday, and 3 people call in sick to work, you have to tell your boss your going, even if that means loosing your job. Be the kind of person that will not break a promise ever, and therefore only promises very few things. Owning your word also means not lying. Don’t insinuate or imply what you don’t mean. Talk flatly and openly the truth. I know your Dog or Cat, knows when your sad, but the only real way humans can share the emotions and ideas the have inside is with words. If you think people are believing your lies, you won’t believe they understand you when you need them.

4) Take care of yourself.

Dress for the body you have, not the one you are working towards. You don’t have to look like a model. (Even the models I know, don’t look like “that” when going to the lake to hang out.) But you want to take care of yourself. We all have differing bodies, and that's OK. You just need to be clean and look like you care about yourself. The way you look signals others how to treat you, so make an effort to look presentable. You don’t need to be “dolled up” just to go hang out, but take the time to be clean and groomed. Taking a little time each day to take care of your body also help you feel good about yourself.

Place a premium on yourself, by holding yourself to a standard of at least 10% higher than everyone else.

5) Love your life.

You are, interesting, adaptable, honourable, and healthy. Its OK to be happy. Happy people attract others. When you see someone loving their live its a huge turn on. So love your life. Take the time and effort to work on problems that may arise, and plan for your future. This is your life and you are the only one who is ever going to be in control of it. So love it.

Will this all prevent you from ever having your heart broke? No, of course not. Will all the people you attract be worthy of you and be as honourable as you? No. But you will be in the drivers seat of your life. You will have people wanting to be near you and date you. And as a bonus all the time that others spend feeling bad about themselves trying to “get” this person, or attract that one, you have spent learning and trying new things, and keeping yourself interested.

It wont always be simple, but with every choice, you try and do what you would respect the most if someone else had to make the same choice. This way you become the kind of person you would respect, and that will attract the kind of people you would want to be with.