PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE!

You make New Year resolutions every year.  In the past, some are started but then set aside for one reason or another, and some have been forgotten within hours, okay sometimes minutes, of having been made.  A recurring resolution for you these past couple of years has been that you're going to date more.  It always seems like you get caught up in just everyday life stuff.  The house.  The kids. Work.  Something always gets in the way, or you convince yourself that you need to wait until the time is right.

"But this year is going to be different! DAMMIT!!  There will always be some new drama or some new fire that has to be put out.  I'm going to make right now the right time!  I'm going to put myself out there!!"

THAT'S THE SPIRIT! HOORAY FOR YOU!!

So far your plan is in full effect! But now that operation "Put Yourself Out There" has commenced, you're faced with a dilemma.  "How far out there are you willing to go? And what does that even mean?"

Maybe you should put on the brakes in your plan until you figure it out?

DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!!!

You don't know how far out there you're willing to go because you haven't seen whats offered.  You need to think of this as a  new adventure.  Don't implement your plan with the goal or even hope of finding your soul mate.  That's precisely how many of us end up in relationships that are unhealthy and a waste of time.  Having given our hearts to someone who doesn't deserve it.  BUMP THAT!!

Implement your plan with the goal of learning about you.  You'll be surprised to learn that you don't know you as well as you think you do.

For you, camping meant roughing it at Motel 6 while eating gas station hot dogs.  You went camping when you were a girl scout, and you failed to see the wonder of it then, and nothing has changed.  But a new......ummmm lets call them Adventure Interests......a new Adventure Interest loves the outdoors. Pitching a tent and fishing are his favorite activities.  He convinces you to go camping with him. You have been trying think of a way out of it.  Looks like you're stuck.  He takes you to a beautiful spot overlooking a lake.  The sunset is amazing.  And the fish! He used some herbs he'd brought with him, wrapped the fish in a leaf, and roasted it over the camp fire.  It was the best damn fish you ever tasted!! And then you really learned just how much fun sharing a tent can be! "WOW! Camping isn't so bad when you're with someone who knows what they're doing." :-p

Another Adventure Interest is into auto racing.  You are soooo not interested.  Just some cars driving really really fast in a circle.  You'll pass.  But he's really cute, funny, and sexy as all get out.  Your libido convinces you to accept his invitation to join he and the crew in the pit. (Lets be honest men aren't the only ones who sometimes don't think with the head on their shoulders!) You can help out!   (OY VEY!!) He's excited that you're going to be there, and you're hoping for a hurricane.   The experience is nothing like you imagined.  You didn't get a chance to sit down the entire race.  The pace was frenetic!  There was always something that needed to be done.  And the pace would get kicked up a notch when the car pulled in for fueling and what not.  That evening you and your team (because that's how you think of them now) go to a local dive for the best steak you ever had.  You had such a fantastic time that you're going with them to a race in South Carolina next month.  WOOHOO!!!

So, "putting yourself out there" should mean opening your mind and world to new experiences.  Let life happen and live it to the fullest!! Your soul mate will find you along the way.  With any luck you'll learn to love something new that you can share with family, friends, or even you next Adventure Interest.