Personal experience and expert advice on how being true to ourselves, enjoying life, and dating intentionally can lead to true love and authentic relationships.
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Relationship Baggage: What to Consider When Dating Someone With a Bad Past
After months of checking profiles, dating someone with a bad past wasn’t top of mind. My search for the next match was — finding that aster in a field of daisies. One night, I stopped at a profile of a middle-aged man leaning against the open door of a motorcoach, a faded green jacket hanging…
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Dating Someone With Relationship Stability Risks
I never thought I’d end up dating someone with a burden. Though he still went home to a wife nightly, eventually, the divorce papers were signed. Afterward, we felt freer, but I never heard the words “commitment” or “girlfriend.” I’d ask where we stood. His answers changed as often as the weather: “I don’t love…
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Communication Problems in Relationships: Different Attachment Styles and the Hidden “Translation Tax”
Communication problems in relationships have a way of hiding in plain sight, and different attachment styles in relationships can block the view further. Case in point: He never called, but I knew him by the sound of his knock. When I didn’t see him for weeks, I became jittery. When I tracked him down, he’d…
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Compatibility in a Relationship: What Background Mismatches Cost and How to Decide If It’s Worth It
Uncertainty over compatibility in a relationship juts like tree roots along an unkempt path. In our case, they tripped us during every tryst. Yet in that moment, the warmth of his hand felt soothing — comfortable. “This is the best part of this evening,” he said, as I gazed into his deep blue eyes, which…
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Relationship Doubts: Is This Relationship Right for Me? A Fixed vs. Fluid View
The way he walked — back straight, chest out — caught my eye, but the space between us made me wonder, “Is this relationship right for me?” At the start, we discussed what we wanted in a relationship, but I wasn’t upfront about seeking a long-term commitment. I also said, “I don’t want to be…
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Truecasting 101: Stop Losing Yourself and Begin Building Authentic Relationships
Building authentic relationships is the goal — or so I told myself as I pulled on the shapely lavender spandex v-neck and thigh-hugging black leggings. When he passed by me, he stopped to laugh and lean in. The rush from his attention felt like a “win.” When his text popped onscreen a few hours after…
Future Dating Intentionally and Authentic Relationships Topics Include:
- Why we can struggle to accept ourselves and how to welcome ourselves as we are
- What we tend to hide when we get to know others, and how to feel more comfortable being ourselves
- Reflecting on past relationships and the lessons we learned from them
- Why embracing life’s joys is crucial for arriving at authenticity, building authentic relationships, and dating intentionally