Showing posts with label don't settle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label don't settle. Show all posts

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Maybe It's Me

I have a confession for all of you: I love Taylor Swift's songs. People remind me all of the time that she writes about high school drama, makes something out of nothing, and is always whining about a messy breakup or empowering herself after dumping Joe Shmo for the last time. Whatever... they're catchy! I admire that she uses her music to express herself, writing her own stuff, and sings about real things. And she's managed to stay a pretty good influence, despite the crazy showbiz whirlwind her life must be. Good for her.

As much as I enjoy her catchy tunes, this someecard got me thinking:


I understand that great music, poetry, prose, art, etc comes from heartbreak in one way or another. So yes, many of her songs that relate to listeners are ones that her fans can identify with, who seem to not only enjoy the song hooks like I do, but also have experienced some drama that at least kind of fits the lyrics. Not the point.

Maybe the makers of the meme have a point (not necessarily for Taylor specifically, but you know). If someone gets stuck in the victim mentality, some serious relationship issues can arise: both in the present and developing into bigger problems in the future. Where is the line between looking at what isn't working that the desiree is/isn't doing and identifying where you might need to make some changes?

It is good to have expectations in relationships, potential relationships, plutonic friendships, and so on and so forth. Both parties should at least have a pretty good idea of what he/she is getting into and how the two plan to function together. Expectations keep us goal oriented, focused on the good stuff, and keep us from losing our heads. However, too many expectations can make things a little bit dicey.

We grow up dreaming of someone who will love us for all that we are, including everything: strengths, weaknesses, successes, faults, annoying habits, passions, hopes, dreams, and all of that great stuff. It's a wonderful ideal that is totally fine to aspire to. The important necessary flip side that should accompany that is recognizing that the beloved will too have weaknesses, faults, and annoying habits... along with the fun parts. We have (fair and balanced!) expectations for them that should be there, but they also have expectations for us.

Here's the tough part: that means we have to keep looking at ourselves and identify where we can do better, where we can grow, and what we might need to change. 


*GASP!!* "How dare?! Why would I ever have to change! I am me and that is more than enough and any man should be lucky to be with me!!!!" you might say. Disclaimer: I don't mean become a different person, pretend you are someone you're not, or put up a front of perfection until you rope a man into loving you no matter what and then open up the real can of crazy.

I mean, we should constantly be challenging ourselves to be growing in virtue... all the time. We'll always mess up (some of us less than others), but an attempt should be made to see ourselves as others see us so they can help us identify ways we could be growing or things we could be working on that we might not see. If ex-boyfriend (and w-boyfriend, and v-boyfriend, and u-boyfriend, and t-boyfriend...) all break up with you because you constantly talk about how you are jealous of other girls or telling stories of ex-boyfriends past or you chew the ice in your glass when you eat out until the ice starts to melt and excess water drips out of your mouth... these are things that are helpful to know so we can fix the little things (or in some cases big things) and be that much closer to forming happy, healthy, and lasting relationships.

Another thing to keep in mind on this foreboding part of the path to self-discovery: sometimes the critiques of exes aren't accurate or they're just incredibly biased/tainted. Take them with a grain bucket of salt. And never, ever get nitpicky. You are a wonderful human being, and don't ever lose sight of how much you are loved, the fact that you are a gift, you are unique, you are irreplaceable, and you have infinite value! This is all about becoming more you--the best you! Becoming the best version of yourself isn't always fun, but it is always rewarding. Virtuous people are happy people, and according to our classy girl Audrey Hepburn, "happy girls are the prettiest."

Friday, October 19, 2012

A presentation on dating:

Some of my dear friends from Franciscan University of Steubenville, my alma mater, put together this presentation on dating for the Homecoming 2012 talent show this past month. Just in case you needed a smile, this sure did the trick for me. Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Watching Not Searching: Giving Up Fill-In Maybe Men

Again this is borrowed from another blog (darlingmagazine.org). Love it.



Watching Not Searching: Giving Up Fill-In-Maybe-Men

 BY KRISTIE VOSPER

About two months ago I went to a party at a new friend’s house to get to know her and her husband better. I stood around a table with some of their friends and played a group game. During this game a well-known man standing beside me began to flirt with me. Flattered, I received it because I thought he was engaging, handsome and fun to talk to. He complimented me and said nice things like “A beautiful woman that I can talk to…how refreshing.” I thought inwardly: see, it is good to go to mingle amongst new people because you never know who you’re going to meet…
After about a half an hour of fun banter and flirting—and even a bit of side touching—he turned to me with a guilty face and said, “I should probably mention that my girlfriend is over there on the couch…”
Seriously? Sigh.
A friend who overheard this exchange pulled me to the side and said, “Oh, I think he really likes you. She’s just a fill-in. They break up all the time but get back together for the sex. Long term, he’s looking for a woman he can talk to and sleep with.”
Ok. Enough.
I turned to her and said, “Well the man of character I’m looking for isn’t sleeping with his fill-in playmate while he waits to find me.”
It was a quick response, one that sounded rather planned, but it wasn’t. The strength in my words even kind of startled me. Though I meant what I said (and still do), my own judgment of my “party flirter’s” behavior became a mirror to me.
I spent a few months asking myself the hard questions—the kind we all need to ask ourselves if we are serious about having authentic relationships:
Have I found my personal value in having a man to talk about with my girlfriends or to go on a date with?
Has it all been a distraction from facing my disappointment with God that I’ve had to wait longer to get married than I originally wanted?
Have I spent years filling my life with dates I have consciously known are “fill-ins”?
While I’ve been single for what feels like a really long time, I wonder if I am always letting a “maybe” hang around. I’ve usually been well-intentioned about it or rationalized that dating is what single people do. I’ve joked, “It’s a numbers game. You gotta keep fishing!” Yet I see now that some of my dating has been due to not believing I deserved much more than a “fill-in” that I could “fix up” and hope to make into the right guy.
Whatever the reason or intent has been behind some of my past dating history, I decided that this year the fill-in dating had to stop. I have to start waiting well…and waiting the way I hope my future guy is waiting too: sans playmate.
After a few years of doing a lot of “fix-up” work on myself, I finally believe I am worthy of the real thing: a man of character who is ready to commit and connect, love and protect, care for and adore me…without all the unfiltered baggage.
I’ve realized that women who wait well don’t search and scramble, they watch.
What does that look like exactly? Here are five ways to stop searching and start becoming a woman who watches:
1. Be present to the life right in front of you. Life isn’t just about finding a man. There is much more to the story.
2. Grow, refine, develop, explore, and work on becoming the best woman you can be. Examine your life, make changes, and live well in every season.
3. Be curious about men who come into your life, but don’t hunt them down in desperation. If you are fully alive and content in your life, you will be much more attractive than a desperate and needy woman looking for her savior in every guy that comes along.
4. Pray about the men you meet. Ask for wisdom from God, and then listen to it and live by it. Believe that God cares about this part of your life.
5. Practice gentleness and vulnerability rather than cynicism. When the right guy does come, you’ll be ready to connect in the way that good relationships require.