Secrets Revealed: 3 Things to Avoid on a Date

Every date has great potential for success as long as you know what to avoid. I’ve narrowed down the list to three things everyone can unpack and leave behind when on a date.

1. Nervousness

There’s no reason to be nervous even when you think there’s not enough in common between you. Opposites sometimes really attract each other. Allowing nervousness to creep in on a date can lead to clumsiness: drink-spilling, tripping, or even calling your date the wrong name. It may help to remember the Bible story of Jonah and the whale. In Jonah 1:15 we find the reminder, “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.” Figure out if you’re supposed to be on that date. If you are, then the nervousness is the Jonah that should be thrown out so the rest of the date can be salvaged. It’s better to throw out the nervousness than to allow yourself to talk too much on a date, because that can lead to the next thing to avoid.

2. Revealing all of your faults

Nobody’s perfect. We all know this, so there’s no need to bring it up. A date is not the place for a lengthy disclaimer listing all the reasons the date should be unsuccessful. If you trip or spill a glass of water, it can easily be overlooked. Don’t dwell on it. The Bible gives great advice in Philippians 4:8. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

3. Bragging

The third thing to avoid on a date is going overboard in the other direction. If you start out nervous, make a mistake, and warn your date about the coming deluge of mistakes you think you might be making in the near future, you’ve got to stop yourself. Make sure you don’t overcompensate by telling your date about every award you’ve ever won and all the favorable comments you’ve heard others make about you. The Bible has a word about this too. From Proverbs 27:2, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.”

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