Being single can be discouraging. But Professor Michael A. Goodman recommends four ways we can live a rewarding life while we continue to date.
Photo by Teddy Kelley.
Let’s say you’re single.
No one is asking you on dates, or those you do ask never seem interested. It’s easy to become discouraged and even question if dating is worth all of the trouble.
How can you keep a positive attitude about dating and being single? Professor Michael A. Goodman offers the following four ways to live a happy, meaningful life while being single:
- Patiently prepare yourself. Everyone can have a fulfilling life, no matter his or her relationship status. Live in a way that brings you personal happiness, and you’ll find yourself creating “the kind of life you would like to invite others into.”
- Seek opportunities. Put yourself in places where you can meet the kind of people you want to date. For example, if you want to date someone who enjoys the outdoors, attend outdoorsy activities.
- Live life relationally. Focus on building relationships with everyone around you. By loving and serving others, you’ll be better prepared to develop a rewarding romantic relationship when the time is right.
- Deepen select relationships. As you develop meaningful relationships with friends or acquaintances, find ways to deepen those relationships. “Show those you care about that you enjoy spending time with them. Build them up and help them feel better about themselves. . . . Before you know it, you might find yourself dating.”
While being single can be discouraging, following these steps will help you draw closer to Heavenly Father, the Savior, and those around us. Professor Goodman counsels that “the joyous rewards of dating are more than worth the effort, and even though the ideal of marriage may not be realized, the happiness and fulfillment from living according to these principles will enrich the lives of those who follow them.”
Read Professor Goodman’s other dating suggestions in his article “Taking the Fear Out of Dating.”
Source: Ensign
—Stephanie Fudge, Mormon Insights
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Find more insights
Learn more about dating by reading Maryssa Dennis’s Mormon Insights article “Single and Still Faithful.”
Read “Hints and Clear Signals: Dating Tips from Young Single Adults,” a Mormon Insights article by Charlotte Noelle Champenois.
Read Marian Spencer’s Mormon Insights article “The Lord’s Timing Is Everything.”
Read more about trusting in God’s plan in Dallin H. Oaks’s BYU devotional address “Timing.”
Discover more about finding greater happiness and success in dating by reading Jared Whitley’s Ensign article “Discipleship and Dating.”
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