Happily ever after?

OK, show of hands, who is sick and tired of seeing everyone else living their “happily ever after” while you go on horrible date after horrible date? I get it, it’s extremely frustrating. As happy and fulfilled as your single life may be, you still want your own “happily ever after” whatever that looks like for you. But, it begs the question, is the dating grass greener on the other side? Yes and no … how? Well, it’s all about perspective.

Last week I listened to an interview  with the author of Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life . The main premise of the book was that each and every one of us has two lives – our actual life and the one that we wish for. This “unlived life”, according to the author, can occupy a large part of our mental life. Interestingly enough, he goes on to say that the people we have failed to be and the road not taken preoccupies our minds.  Essentially, the life that got away never really goes away. This really resonated with me, particularly in terms of dating and my own life.

So, you feel like your life is one big consolation prize? You’re not alone. Everyone is in the same boat … it might be in regards to dating or it might be for something else, but we’ve all got some sort of regret in life. People are so preoccupied by the life they are not leading that it makes them miserable. They end up spending so much time in the “dream” that they forget to live. You can’t live in the “if only” world. We tend to do that a lot when we’re single and dating.

We live in a culture that gives the impression of endless possibilities. This theme was also discussed by Psychologist Barry Schwartz in his Paradox of Choice   discussions. He said that we have too many choices that we don’t know what to choose. All these choices have the potential to allow us to do better but actually make us feel worse because our expectations increase which in turn produces less satisfaction with whatever results we get. He said that, frankly, the real secret to happiness is low expectations. It is often thought that Social Media is perpetuating this “missing out phenomenon” and makes people feel left out where they should be thinking “what else can I be doing with my time that’s more productive”.

What is the solution? The solution is to live your life. Yes, simple as that. Life should be “what do I make with the experience I have had” not “what might have been”.  Regret is part of life and it’s part of reality. Regret reminds us that we can do better. It’s about the lessons learned and improving ourselves. Part of living is bearing disappointment. What’s wrong with that? Well, no one wants to feel pain or suffering. No one wants to wonder “what if”.

The grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it! This applies to ALL aspects of your life, even dating. You get what you give. You have to stop comparing yourself to what others have. You need to stop dwelling on your “unlived life”.  You also need to stop living in the past. We need to live our lives as they are. We should be grateful for what we do have and not focus on what’s missing. Remember that dating is a process … you need to enjoy this process. Live in the present and you’ll definitely be MUCH happier.

Do you think we spend too much time in the “what if” world that we lose sight of reality? Is the grass REALLY greener on the other side? I would love your thoughts in the comments!

Who is Suzie Aboueid?

Suzie is the brains behind “Single Dating Diva”, an award winning blog about being single, dating and relationships. The blog showcases the many adventures we have and how challenging, but also exciting dating really is because single isn’t a bad word  and dating really can be fun!! With experience comes wisdom and she also shares some lessons learned along the way.

Suzie is a Lebanese-Canadian who is an accomplished writer and public relations expert from Ottawa, Canada. Her education and experience stems from a background of interpersonal communication, dialogue, human interaction and public relations. Her skills and knowledge have brought her much success in everything she does because she has a talent of taking very complicated situations and making them simple.

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