Have you ever noticed that there is a major jump in the need for a date around the holidays? As a single person, you may feel pretty much fine all year, but once November comes to an end and December hits...YOU NEED A DATE!
I was reading the results of a poll for single people. The results of one question in particular really highlighted this dating conflict that seems to happen during the holidays. The question was:
How important is it to you to be dating someone during the holidays?
Interestingly enough, only 20% of the 7500 people polled said that it was not really all that important, meaning that, even if you are fine being single the rest of the year, at this time of year 80% of you feel it is important to be dating someone for the holidays.
Those figures seem to correlate with what I notice about my single friends. The closer we get to the Christmas holiday, the more the pressure they seem to feel that they should be dating someone “special”.
So which group do you fall in for the holidays? Are you part of the 80% or part of the 20%? If you are in the 80% where do you think all the pressure comes from to “be with someone special” during the holidays? Is it what you think society expects of single people, or is it just pressure you put on yourself?
Whatever, the reason, if you are one of those that fall into the 80% holiday dating trap – beware! You are coming from a very needy position and that means:
- Your expectations or standards are likely to drop and you are more likely to compromise the very things that are important to you in a happy relationship.
- You are at greater risk of making some horrible dating mistake that will turn into a story that your friends and family remember and remind you of for a long time to come.
- You have to figure out what you do once the holidays are over. Do you stay in the relationship because you’re in it now, even when you realise it isn’t your ideal one, or do you go through the pain and the consequences of a break-up?
If you are in the 80% category, it might be worth taking a closer look at those people that are in the 20% category. Look at how they are and how they approach the holiday season. I think what you may find is that those people may actually be enjoying their holidays more than you are.
If you fall in the 80% category, take a step back and try to relax a little bit on the dating scene for the holidays. Take solace in knowing that there are at least 20% of single people that are not stressing about a date for the holidays and they are enjoying their holidays.
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