Plus, “you don’t know what you don’t know.”ĭating a wide variety of people can be helpful, precisely because it gives you an opportunity to learn more about your own likes and dislikes - and maybe even meet your next boo… Remember: ‘Types’ are a myth “By dating just one type of person, you limit the range of insights you can gather about yourself, your needs, and the desired characteristics in prospective partners,” he says. Often, people only date people within a specific ‘type,’ which keeps them from exploring a wider variety of partners and relationship dynamics, says Brian Ackerman, a psychotherapist at The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in New York City. There’s a thin line between dating within your negotiable and overly restricting your dating pool. … But don’t only date one ‘type’ of person
Close your eyes and visualize where you see your life in 5 years.Here are some prompts that may help you figure out your negotiables and nonnegotiables: “When you’re able to identify what’s negotiable and nonnegotiable, you can continue to be flexible and allow what you’re looking for to evolve and be more specific to the relationship - while staying connected to your wants and needs,” they say. It can also be helpful to understand what feels negotiable vs. Do my goals and dreams involve another person or other people? To what extent or degree am I willing to work toward that right now?.What level of commitment, time, and energy am I willing to bring into this dynamic right now?.What is my preferred relationship structure? What is my relationship orientation?.“It’s helpful to know what you’re looking for as you go into dating,” says Jesse Kahn, LCSW-R, CST, the director and sex therapist at The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in New York City. Next, figure out what you want while dating