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The Only Person Judging You is You

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I was really hungry for dinner the other night, so when I met with some friends at 8:00 PM, I decided to order a flatbread pizza. I didn’t realize they had all eaten dinner already, so I was the only one ordering food.

  • Choice 1: Forget about ordering. No one wants to be the only one pigging out at the table. There must be some frozen bagels at home.
  • Choice 2: Order the pizza but feel self-conscious the whole time for eating all alone.
  • Choice 3: Order the pizza and eat it in all its deliciousness.

I really love my apartment building, so I decided to buy the five people who work in the leasing office holiday gifts. I bought them all a pretty coffee mug (each got a different color) with some candy in it. But when it was time to give them their gifts, the fancy green cellophane wrapping paper I had ordered online hadn’t arrived yet.

  • Choice 1: Give them the gifts late, only after the wrapping paper came.
  • Choice 2: Give them the gifts on time, but apologize for not having wrapped them.
  • Choice 3: Give them the gifts sans wrapping paper but with a big smile because you know they’ll appreciate the gesture.

We all feel self-conscious about various things – our bodies, our intelligence level, our relationship history, our job, anything. When talking about these topics that surely cause some anxiety, remember that no one knows how you feel about anything until you tell them.  Oftentimes, the person judging you isn’t your friend and isn’t your colleague… it’s you. Let’s look at how this relates to dating.

A client of mine had been married for 16 years. He’s 42 and is now getting back into the dating world again for the first time since he met his ex-wife. He feels self-conscious because he thinks women will wonder why he was married for so long before getting divorced. Whenever someone asks him how long he was married, he gets uncomfortable and shyly says in an embarrassed tone, “I was married for 16 years. We tried to work it out, but unfortunately, we couldn’t.”  This leads his dates to then question what kind of relationship he had and whether he’s still pining for her. As this client said to me on the phone recently, by working together, we’ve shined him up a bit. We practiced his response when future dates ask this inevitable question. I told him that by framing it in such a melancholy way, no one has any choice but to feel sorry for him. He could instead say, with a smile on his face (even if he has to consciously contort his mouth into one), “You know, I was married for 16 years. I obviously never thought I’d be dating again!” Then, when he’s ready, and only then, does he need to share with anyone the details. If he doesn’t make a big deal out of it, then neither will his dates. He had to learn that the only person judging him was himself.

Let’s say a date asks you what your hobbies are, and you want to tell this person you enjoy making pottery, playing cards, and doing the daily crossword puzzle.

  • Choice 1: “I have some kind of nerdy hobbies like making pottery, playing cards, and doing the daily crossword puzzle. I know they’re not that exciting.”
  • Choice 2: “I have a few hobbies that I like.” And then change the topic.
  • Choice 3: “I love making pottery in my class, but I also love playing cards and doing the daily crossword puzzle at home. I find them all so relaxing in their own way!”

The choice is simple in all scenarios: #3. So get out there, be yourself, and remember that the only person judging you is you.

Erika Ettin is the Founder of A Little Nudge, where she helps people navigate the world of online dating. Her services include: writing unique profiles to get you noticed, helping to choose your best profile pictures, writing one-of-a-kind emails to get someone’s attention, and planning dates. Want to connect with Erika? Join her newsletter for updates and tips.
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2 Comments »

  • SchadenfreudianSlippers says:

    “Whatever happened to the days when a man was first chosen by being a mench first and everything else second?”

    Those days died with the first episode of Sex and the City.

  • Michael says:

    Your premise that you are the only one whom is judging you is not entirely true. Everybody is judgmental. Women especially. See being judgmental :-).

    Men go into a dating situation by asking the following question, “Why should I date this woman”.

    Women go into a dating situation by asking the following question, “Why shouldn’t I date this man”.

    I imagine that if you look at the number of responses the average woman receives it would far out pace the average number of responses men receive. This will mean women need to weed out the men whom do not qualify.

    Unfortunately for a good number of men, women have a tick sheet. Usually the first couple of items on the tick sheet is something superficial. Guys how many times have you seen the following statement in a woman’s profile, “you should be tall because I am (height) without heels”. There are others however this is the one you see the most. In other words, the man, the woman is looking to fall in love with will be determined firstly by her shoes.

    Whatever happened to the days when a man was first chosen by being a mench first and everything else second?

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