7 Tips to Find Love with an Online Dating Service

I enthusiastically challenge you to try on-line dating. Forrest Gump's mama, "always said life was like a box of chocolates, never know what you're gonna get". Gail Barsky always says, "Dating is a numbers' game and you must be like a kid in a candy store". You must approach dating with a childlike curiosity. Dating does not have to suck.

You must have fun while getting to know yourself better as you go through the elimination process to find a mate. Reconnect with that inner child who used to be so excited exploring new adventures.

Instead of crying when you fall down as if a child probably would, simply see the humor in your dating experiences. Do not take rejection personally in the early stages of dating.

To be a successful, savvy Internet dater, you must comply with these seven tips.

1. Before you date after your divorce, you must be content with your single life.

You must know that single life affords you the opportunity to re-discover who you are and explore new opportunities. Why do you think so many of your married friends live vicariously through you? They sometimes secretly wish they could be single just like you.

Did you ever notice how married people are so interested with every detail of your dating life? Meanwhile your single friends are so busy taking their dating life too seriously.

2. Have fun on your date even if it isn't a "Match".

Approach it as if you are in a candy story full of different flavors, sizes, and shapes to taste. Remember the fun you had trying new things. You must approach dating in the same way. You sample the candy until you find your favorite flavor.

Now close your eyes and picture yourself in a candy store as a kid where you wanted to try all the varieties but your mom said, "No, you can't have all of them". In fact, she probably told you that you could only pick a couple pieces of chocolate. Well now, you are an adult and there are no limitations so go ahead and sample the selection.

3. Do not limit yourself to a particular type of person who you will only consider to date.

Somehow, when it comes to Internet dating artificial criteria is used more often than not. How do I know this to be true? It is because you apply different standards to people you meet in person.

You see other qualities that cannot possibly come forth in a written profile. You must not type cast your date for the leading role before the play has begun.

4. You must post a photo if you want to maximize your responses.

If you are a woman, men need to see the visual picture because that is part of who they are so just accept it without condemning them. There will be plenty of time to see "the real you". And men stop using excuses that your professional life will not allow you to post a photo. Get over it or do not date on-line.

Why should either sex waste time to see if there is an initial physical attraction?

The golden rule to women is unless you are planning to have a tremendous amount of cosmetic surgery before your first date, post a recent picture. A recent photo is less than 2 years old. 95% of the time a man will resent you for misleading him. That is no way to start any dating relationship.

5. Your on-line profile must be creative and show a fun side of your personality.

This is your first impression. If you are going to bother to even put up a profile then watch for grammatical and spelling mistakes. I have literally seen dating sites that have a spell checker and the on-line dater did not bother to utilize the tool.

If you are terrible at spelling, then cut and paste the profile into your browser where you can complete a spelling check. If you cannot find the time to spell words correctly in your profile then you lack the commitment to seriously date.

6. You must always listen to your intuition.

If after a couple of dates, you know it is not for you go back to that candy store and pick another favor. The worst thing you can do is believe that people change. I promise you the things that bother you in the beginning will only annoy you more as the relationship progresses.

Your gut reaction to most situations if you live consciously is usually right. Stop making excuses or creating a fantasy of what you hope will turn out in the relationship.

7. Always be careful about your safety by meeting in a public place for your first date.

There are no exceptions to this rule. I do not care how well you think you know your date because you have emailed each other or talked on the phone numerous times. This is a false sense of security. You might feel comfortable because you have shared your deepest secrets (which by the way are a complete waste of time) but you must still meet in a public place so you can evaluate your date in person. Copyright © 2006, all rights reserved.

Gail Barsky, Dating After Divorce Expert, helps individuals increase the chances of attracting higher quality dates. For a free private phone consultation go to http://coachingforsingles.com or reach Gail at gail@coachingforsingles.com. Online Internet Dating Tips