7 Dating Resolutions to Improve Your Love Life and Happiness in 2018

For millions of single Americans, the dating world is more frustrating than enjoyable; bad dates, bad habits, and loneliness can encroach on daily life and make it hard to find a match and/or be happy with yourself, both of which are important to single people looking for love.

Fortunately, there are some strategies that can help you not only maximize your chances of finding an ideal partner, but make sure you stay happy along the way.

Resolutions for a Better 2018

Try taking on at least some of these personal resolutions while dating in 2018:

1. Choose the right dating sites. First, make sure you’re only using the best dating sites for your goals and priorities. There are hundreds of dating platforms out there, with dozens of areas of specialty. Some try to curate high-quality matches, while others focus on providing a steady stream of matches. Some focus on a specific segment of the population, while others shoot for a more general audience. Pick a platform that caters to your demographics and interests, and don’t be afraid to shop around before you settle on a “main” platform.
2. Be kind to yourself first. You’ve heard it before; before you can love someone else, you have to love yourself. If you want to have a better chance of finding a great partner, you have to be kind to yourself; give yourself plenty of time to spoil yourself, let yourself feel good about your looks and personality, and forgive yourself for past mistakes. This will help you develop more confidence and better priorities in the dating world.
3. Build a strong network of friends. One of the best ways to be happy while single and dating is to have a strong network of friends. Work on building up the friendships you already have, and try to meet new friends to add to your pool. They’ll support you through the rough times, and might even help you find new potential dates within their own social circles.
4. Learn to be okay with being single. Enter the new year with the mindset that you’re okay with being single. If you’re desperate to find someone else, you’ll take rejection more harshly, you’ll be more disappointed with bad dates, and you’ll feel bad about yourself the whole time you’re searching. On top of that, you might be less attractive or interesting to potential suitors. It’s okay to want to find a romantic partner, but not if it becomes your sole focus in life.
5. Broaden your standards. Consider broadening your standards. If you typically reject someone if they fall outside a certain weight, height, age, or other demographic, consider being more loose with your standards. You never know what amazing person might lie beyond the boundaries you set before meeting them.
6. Experiment. Experiment as much as you can, and force yourself if you have to. That means dating lots of new people to expose yourself to multiple different walks of life, going on lots of different types of dates, going to new locations, and trying things you ordinarily wouldn’t. This is important for maximizing your self-growth during the process, and will lead you to meeting far more new people than you ordinarily would.
7. Prioritize fun. Finally, make sure your first priority in dating is simply having fun. If you walk into a date expecting it to be like a job interview, and your main priority is evaluating your potential partner, you’ll miss out on some of the most enjoyable parts of the dating experience. Relax, have fun, and try not to take it too seriously; after all, even a bad date can make for a fun story to tell later on.

Staying Consistent

It’s estimated that only 8 percent of people end up keeping their New Year’s resolutions for as long as they intended, so strive to be a part of that minority. If you drop one of these resolutions after only a week or two of trying, you won’t be able to see its full effects.

That being said, not all of these strategies will work equally well for everyone. Make sure you give them all a try, incorporating them consistently over a period of weeks, but don’t be afraid to move on if they aren’t working. Just make sure you’re striving for your own personal goals and happiness along the way.