Dating with Gratitude

Many people go into dates with a sense that something needs to happen. That the meeting should somehow reveal whether this could become a relationship or not. That makes us start evaluating the situation fairly quickly. We think about what the person says, how it feels, and what it means. And when a meeting is seen through that lens, it can start to feel more like a performance than an encounter.

But there's another way to look at dating. Instead of seeing every meeting as a step toward something, you can see it as an experience in itself. A moment where two people meet, interact, and share something. When the perspective shifts in this way, something changes in the meeting. We tend to become more present, more open, and less focused on analyzing.

Gratitude in dating isn't about everything having to be wonderful. It's more about being able to see the value in the meeting itself. That might be something as simple as a conversation that was unexpectedly interesting, learning something new, or gaining a perspective you didn't have before. You can also always be grateful for having met a new person you otherwise never would have encountered. When we start seeing meetings that way, dating often becomes a little easier and a lot more rewarding.

Next time you leave a singles event in Stockholm, try thinking: What did I get to experience in this meeting? instead of: Was this date worth my time?