11 August, 2022
Dating With Ease Dating Tips
Dating With Ease Dating Tips
Lifestyle, Valentine's Day

6 Dating Tips: How To Date With Ease

11 August, 2022
Dating With Ease Dating Tips

In an era of dating apps and swiping on Tinder, the Hong Kong dating scene isn’t quite the easiest to navigate. A relationship coach shares her top tips on how to date with ease.

Do you feel your head spinning with the numerous contradicting dating rules that have somehow become common knowledge in modern dating? You’ve probably come across some of these main offenders like don’t be too available, don’t be too distant, don’t respond too quickly – make them wait, you don’t want to look needy; but don’t make them wait too long, they’ll lose interest. It’s enough to turn anyone off dating but it doesn’t have to be this hard. Read on for some expert tips from relationship coach Nathalie Sommer to help you bring the fun and excitement back into the dating process.

Read More: How To Break The Cycle Of Relationship Burnout


Dating With Ease Dating Tips

1Set Boundaries

Are you tired of receiving late-night texts or phone calls? Or maybe you’re fed up with the lack of attention from the person you’ve been dating?

First of all, identify what behaviour isn’t working for you. Then, talk to them about how that behaviour makes you feel.

You could say something like, “I enjoy spending time with you and I think you’re amazing (start with the positive), but I feel like we might not be on the same page. I want to get to know you better, but if you’re not available for that, I feel like I’m wasting my time. I trust you will respect my feelings as I enjoy our time spent together”.

Make sure you follow through with the consequence if they don’t step up! Otherwise, they’ll know if you’re bluffing next time and won’t take you seriously. Additionally, it sets a precarious precedent for your future relationships.


Dating With Ease Dating Tips

2Know When Someone Is Ghosting You & Respond

Ghosting – as some of us may know all too well – is when someone you’ve been dating or talking to suddenly stops all communication with you and pretty much drops off the face of the earth. You can think everything is going well and then next minute they’re gone, and you’re left wondering what happened.

There are many different reasons people ghost (fear of the unknown, conflict avoidance etc.) but whatever the reason, this is something they have to work on – do not blame yourself.

You can say something along the lines of, “I haven’t heard from you in a long while, so I am going to assume this isn’t going any further. It would be nice to get some clarity”. Give a time limit for when you want to hear from them, and if you don’t hear back by the deadline, move on.

Read More: How To Stop Comparing Your Relationship To Others


3Understand The Power Of Polarity

The dating game is incredibly sexy, fun and beautiful when you know how to play with the balance of masculine and feminine (not so much in a gender-related sense, think of it like Yin & Yang) and create polarity. If you want to attract someone that leads, is ambitious, assertive and desires y0u (leading in their yang), you have to invite them to dance with you as you lean into your playful, receptive energy (surrender into your yin).

Stand firm in the feminine yin energy and realise your worth and power. From that place, you’ll be able to attract the right match.

When you’re in your yin energy, dating can be easy and fun once you get out of your head and work on your belief system. The masculine yang energy would give anything to be with someone easy going, and fun.


Dating With Ease Dating Tips

4Connect To Your Sensual Being

We all have sensual and intimate desires, and getting clear about your needs and wants allows you to be more powerful and confident. To fully own that, you simply need to explore that side of you, both inside and outside the bedroom. Take some time to discover what gives you sexual pleasure. Or practice dialling up your body language – move slowly and sensually, soften your voice, lean back – it’s fun and playful and flirty!

Read More: 5 Ways To Get Started On Your Sexual Wellness Journey


5Stand Firm In Your Beliefs

Make it a goal to be your authentic self when dating. As cliché as it sounds, staying true to you involves your “inner” game matching your “outer” game. The first step is to be honest with yourself, look at your beliefs around relationships, acknowledge your past patterns and restore your self-worth. Once you do that, you’ll notice everything shifts and others will feel it too.

Here are some things you can do:

  • Journal and reflect on what your past relationships had in common. Ask yourself; how did I feel in my previous relationships (what felt right/what felt wrong)? What did they have in common? What were my learnings? Where do I need to take responsibility? How do I want to feel in the next relationship?
  • Do more of the things that help you connect with your inner self (i.e. being in nature, reading a book, journalling, practising mindfulness, connecting with your body through dance, yoga and meditation, etc.).
  • If you want to improve your relationship with others and open yourself up to true intimacy, you first need to strengthen your relationship with yourself.
  • I recommend reading the book Wired For Love to help you understand your own and others’ attachment styles to create healthy relationships.

Dating With Ease Dating Tips

6Welcome Vulnerability, It’s Your Strength

To paraphrase research professor and author Brene Brown, no act of courage has ever taken place without first stepping into vulnerability. In other words, it’s time to be courageous, follow your gut and do YOU. It’s only natural to want to protect ourselves from having our feelings hurt and to evade rejection.

Being vulnerable is a risk we have to take to experience any kind of meaningful connection.

Take the lead in revealing yourself according to your level of trust and comfort, and create a space where honest, revelatory and expansive conversations can occur (you might be surprised how others start doing the same). We want to protect ourselves from being hurt, so we reject vulnerability, but in doing so, we also deny ourselves the possibility of connection, belonging, joy and genuine happiness.

Read More: 5 Common Relationship Myths Debunked


Editor’s Note: “6 Dating Tips: How To Date With Ease” was originally published in February 2021 by Nathalie Sommer and was most recently updated in August 2022.

Main image courtesy of Getty, image 1 courtesy of Taryn Elliott via Pexels, image 2 courtesy of Gigi via Unsplash, image 3 courtesy of KoolShooters via Pexels, image 4 courtesy of Alena Shekhovtcova via Pexels.

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