Dating Games and Relationships
The phrase dating games can be taken in a number of ways. The most innocent interpretation would be that dating game is the tactic people use to be more successful in dating. Or to make people like each other. A more sinister interpretation would be the manipulation tactics people employ to start the dating and relationship on their terms. One way or another, dating game generally refers to how people approach dating, and what do they plan to get out of it. Some people play the dating game as a “game,” where they are just in it for fun. Some people get into the dating game to find the best possible relationship. And since we are calling it a game, people try to win. It’s good when people put in an effort to make themselves better to win. But it’s ugly when people hide who they truly are, to win the dating game because such people fail in relationships.
When you
are trying to date someone, your first goal is to make them notice you, then to
like you. For that, the approach people usually take is to come out as someone
they think the other person would like. Even if it’s not who they really are.
It may work for a while, but when dating game gets these people into a
relationship, and they are not willing to or not able to stay as the person
their partner fell for, things get ugly. This is the downside and the wrong and
unethical way of playing the dating game. One the other end of the spectrum,
the ideal solution would be to find someone who will like you as you are. This
is like finding a needle in a stack of needles. Very hard to pull off.
The reasonable middle
ground would be to enter the dating game with the best version of yourself.
That doesn’t require as much as hiding your deficiencies, but focusing on your
strengths. Show people what there is to like and admire about you. What makes
you a good person and a good partner. If you are honest and open about
yourself, ready to work on yourself and are empathetic and understanding, the
chances are that you will win the dating game with the best possible prize: A
partner you can spend the rest of your life with.
