Do Yourself a Favor And Stop Wasting Your Time With Users

It has recently come to my attention, that I'm not the only one who has been experiencing a strange phenomenon. Some dating prospects just disappear after a favorable time spent together, and don't give you an explanation. Were they abducted by UFOs? No. Was it something you said? Did? Smelled like? NOOOOO!

They're just not ready to commit, rebounding, or seeing someone else (and you ain't #1 on their "fives").

I'll admit it: I've been fooled one too many times. It's a learning process, so bear with me. We all want to find our perfect match, and live blissfully together. But at this point, I don't see how anyone makes it to that point-- there are way too many skittish people in the dating pool, and I wish they'd stop wasting the time of those of us who are ready to open our hearts to love.

So, I wrote several Hubs about this dilemma. You can read more here. I never really knew why dating was so complicated, but reading up on several social media sites, I've read countless complaints by other people who say the same thing: they keep meeting one-date wonders, or dating sites are filled with people who can't even commit to MEETING in person. Can we say, there's something wrong with a person who signs up on a dating site, and then messages you incessantly, and never bothers to set up a date to meet? I had to learn the hard way to just cut these types off-- I've already wasted too much time with flaky men.

Have I gone mad? Or have a lot of people lost touch with dating? It's about finding love-- and we all need it in our life. So why do so many people avoid it?

I recently had a guy whom I'd met on a dating site chat with me on Skype. He's smart, attractive and funny, but our compatibility sucked. I remember asking him, "are you really that much of a jerk, or were you being facetious in your answers?" He played it off, but I still had my reservations.

After about 5 months of chatting on Skype, with no concrete dates to meet-- shoot, I don't even know this guy's last name, but his first name is "John," (I know, right?), he was finally trying to see me. He talked about how he would unbutton my blouse, and how he wanted to watch racy movies together.

Really? Really?

I don't know his last name, but he wants to lay side by side with me and "go there." *eyes cross*

So here's my new rule: stop wasting your time with people who aren't looking for what YOU are looking for! (I blocked him from contacts on Skype-- baby steps, people). I think after the first few weeks, if someone doesn't reveal too much about themselves, and men don't take the initiative to ask you out, don't waste any more time-- he's not serious about finding a connection.

Simple, no? And yet, I find myself giving too many losers my time, energy and effort waiting for them to "see how great I am." Yeah, I've quit that bad habit by deleting my dating profiles.

You are great, and anyone who can't see that isn't worth your time. Stop waiting for morons to notice with time. It's just not going to happen.

Here's my list of things to do when you first start seeing someone (mostly for women):

• Ask what they plan to do in the near future. If they say something shady like, "I want to play it by ear," they're not serious about seeing ONE person. Pass! An honest person who's relationship-ready will say, "I want to love ONE person." Questions to ask: "Are you seeing anyone else? Are you looking for a casual relationship? Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Just curious,"-- make sure to end all statements with that.
• Make sure they don't obsess about their ex. I can't stress this enough. A person who's ready for a relationship will not bring up their past baggage. They've done the "me work," made necessary changes to accommodate their new life, and moved on. For example, I had a 22-year-old guy give me the down low on his poor childhood, long term relationship where he was jolted, his step-monster, and the clincher: he's NOT happy. NEXT!
• They talk too much about getting physical, or ask for pictures. Total red flag. If a guy/woman's into you, he/she won't ask for images of what you look like. It's obvious what their motivation is. Especially if all conversations are so dirty, you need a cold shower after to "cleanse yourself." If someone wants to know YOU, then it won't matter how you look.
• Don't expect miracles. If you see red flags from early on, stop convincing yourself to give it more time to get to know someone. I suffer from chronic optimism, and have a hard time cutting off bad prospects. I'm a work in progress, so it takes time to learn how to cope with brain malfunction. I'll get there...
• Players are PLAYERS! Stop fantasizing you'll change someone! That only happens in Sandra Bullock and Ben Stiller movies. AKA: fake, fictional plots. Men or women who use you for their own gain will NOT change. Leave the users behind, and start focusing on the people who mirror your soul. Good people. You'll know them when you find them-- especially if you cut off the rotten apples right off the bat.