I don’t know about most people, but I was an absolute asshat in my twenties.
If I had to rephrase that for myself, it would be to read a bunch of books, work out, and learn to be more socially acceptable so people can tolerate my stupid ass and actually want to date me.
(fyi that was like two decades ago and I’m happily married with two kids. )
If you’re a pile of shit, then regardless of if you’re dating, married, or single you should be taking active steps to learn and grow into the best version of yourself. “Be yourself” is not an instruction to stagnate.
Specifically for dating, don’t invent a personality or persona. IF the person falls for you, they didn’t fall for you… they fell for a fabrication. For someone who doesn’t exist. That’s a super shitty thing to do to someone else.
“Pretend to be the person someone else wants you to be for the express purpose of getting them emotionally invested in you” might be the most toxic advice there is. It disregards the agency of the other person. It disrespects them entirely. It implies the ends justify the means.
I’d rephrase it to “be your best self” … you know that you can take better care of your appearance, ask attentive questions, chew with your mouth closed, etc.
To me it means be genuine vs being fake. Acting like someone you aren’t to get a partner only results in having a partner that you don’t have a real connection with, and who values you for qualities you don’t actually have.
This is a double edged sword. You shouldn’t put a ton of effort into your dating self if you’re not prepared to keep that up for the rest of your life, otherwise you’re just screwing your spouse. I’m so so glad I put very little effort into masking/ lying about who I am when I dated my spouse. I was just honest. I hate cooking. I’m hard to get ahold of/ don’t answer messages quickly. I don’t want to own a dog. Now that we’re 7 years in, I don’t have to let him down by saying a dog is too much housekeeping for me. I told him that on date 2. He on the other hand definitely presented his best foot, which was disappointing 5 years in when he could no longer keep it up. He’s messy, he apparently really wants a dog, and he also hates cooking, none of which i knew until long after we married.
The mature thing is to recognise that you don’t want to live in a dirty home and smell bad … and to realise that means you need to put in half the effort needed to accomplish that (assuming a partnership of two people under one roof)
“Be yourself” in regards to dating.
I don’t know about most people, but I was an absolute asshat in my twenties.
If I had to rephrase that for myself, it would be to read a bunch of books, work out, and learn to be more socially acceptable so people can tolerate my stupid ass and actually want to date me.
(fyi that was like two decades ago and I’m happily married with two kids. )
I would re-tool it as “be a better version of yourself” instead. So, sounds like you practiced that method than the vague one.
I like that a lot! Thank you!
I still think it’s good advice FOR DATING.
If you’re a pile of shit, then regardless of if you’re dating, married, or single you should be taking active steps to learn and grow into the best version of yourself. “Be yourself” is not an instruction to stagnate.
Specifically for dating, don’t invent a personality or persona. IF the person falls for you, they didn’t fall for you… they fell for a fabrication. For someone who doesn’t exist. That’s a super shitty thing to do to someone else.
“Pretend to be the person someone else wants you to be for the express purpose of getting them emotionally invested in you” might be the most toxic advice there is. It disregards the agency of the other person. It disrespects them entirely. It implies the ends justify the means.
I’d rephrase it to “be your best self” … you know that you can take better care of your appearance, ask attentive questions, chew with your mouth closed, etc.
It’s a question of effort.
To me it means be genuine vs being fake. Acting like someone you aren’t to get a partner only results in having a partner that you don’t have a real connection with, and who values you for qualities you don’t actually have.
Well yes … but I’ve met many men who, when being themselves, were simply putting in zero effort. And they were oblivious to it.
Sometimes it takes someone to come in from outside and give them a shove jn the right direction.
Absolutely this. I currently know a guy who is a fully grown adult who loves Asmongold and flips out at why he can’t get a girl to look at him.
I don’t know what that is, sorry!
This is a double edged sword. You shouldn’t put a ton of effort into your dating self if you’re not prepared to keep that up for the rest of your life, otherwise you’re just screwing your spouse. I’m so so glad I put very little effort into masking/ lying about who I am when I dated my spouse. I was just honest. I hate cooking. I’m hard to get ahold of/ don’t answer messages quickly. I don’t want to own a dog. Now that we’re 7 years in, I don’t have to let him down by saying a dog is too much housekeeping for me. I told him that on date 2. He on the other hand definitely presented his best foot, which was disappointing 5 years in when he could no longer keep it up. He’s messy, he apparently really wants a dog, and he also hates cooking, none of which i knew until long after we married.
Yes, absolutely.
The mature thing is to recognise that you don’t want to live in a dirty home and smell bad … and to realise that means you need to put in half the effort needed to accomplish that (assuming a partnership of two people under one roof)
“Be yourself. And then make sure “yourself” is someone people want to be around.”
This one is hard because it also depends on what “you” (the person receiving this information) considers is good.
I think about the manosphere and those frail babies are surrounded by ego cucks.