10 Tips For Squashing Those Annoying First Date Jitters

So you’ve scored a date and now a million different feelings come rushing through your head – What if it doesn’t go well? What if he doesn’t like me? What if there’s awkward silence? And a million other “what if” scenarios. Breathe. We’ve all been there before. A first date can bring on a lot of excitement, but also a lot of fear and anxiety, as well. Well, allow us to put your nerves at ease so you can relax and enjoy your date. Here are 10 tips for putting an end to your first date jitters!

1. Remember He’s Nervous Too

Rest assured that you are not the only one who is nervous for the date. Your date is most likely trying to calm his nerves, as well. It’s completely normal to be nervous before a first date, but take comfort in the fact that your date is probably just as nervous, if not more, as you are.

2. Keep An Open Mind

A lot of your nerves are probably stemming from the fact of expectations. So do yourself a favor and throw any and all expectations to the side for the night. Don’t think about the fact that you may be meeting your future husband or a total weirdo. That will do nothing but make you even more nervous (if that’s possible.) Just keep an open mind and see where the night takes you.

3. Remember Chemistry Can Grow

Don’t be so quick to judge. Just because it wasn’t love at first sight doesn’t necessarily mean it went badly. Chemistry isn’t always there right away. Sometimes it takes a while to start to develop feelings for someone. So don’t be discouraged if you aren’t feeling attracted to the person immediately. As long as he wasn’t a total weirdo and totally not your type, give him a chance. Go out with him a few more times and get a better feel of who he is and whether or not there’s an attraction.

4. You Can’t Control Everything

There are so many things that are simply out of your control on a first date. While you certainly can (and should) look and play the part, there are some things that you just can’t control no matter how hard you try, such as the weather or weather or not you get a vibe from the person. Remember to just keep an open mind and make the best of the situation.

5. You’ll Have A Story To Tell

Whether the date goes really well or really bad, you’ll have a story to tell your friends and family after the fact. If it went really well, you can tell them about how amazing he is and you can’t wait to see him again, or if it went really bad you can make a joke and chalk it up to another experience.

6. Set Realistic Expectations

While you certainly should have high standards, you also need to recognize when you are setting the bar just a tad too high. Listen, as much as we’d all love to be going out with Harry Styles, the harsh reality is that you are not and probably never will. So make sure to keep your expectations in check because unrealistic expectations are the quickest way to ruin a date, even if it goes well.

7. Make Plans For After

If you are really worried about the date, make plans with your friends for a few hours after you are set to meet him, that way you’ll have a real excuse to leave if it doesn’t go well. But, if it does go well and you want the date to continue, you can always push back your plans with your friends. It’s just better to have an escape plan if you need one than to need one and not have one.

8. Avoid Alcohol

While it can be tempting to have just one drink to take the edge off, it’s best to be completely yourself and in your right mind while going into and on the date. This is the first time you are meeting a new guy, after all, so you want all the odds to be in your favor.

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9. Try Not To Fill Every Silence

As tempting as it is to just keep talking to avoid the dreaded awkward silences, sometimes it’s okay, and even good, to just sit for a few seconds and think about what you want to bring up next. If you panic to fill the silence as quick as possible, you may end up talking about something that you probably shouldn’t on a first date. So when the silence happens, just take a minute to gather your thoughts. Maybe you want to dive deeper on a subject you talked about already or you want to bring up something new. Whatever the case may be, you’ll be glad you didn’t just blurt out the first thing that came to your mind just to fill the silence.

10. Remember You Are Worth It

Keep in mind that this date was a mutual agreement. Someone thought that you were worth getting to know and that is a great sign right there. Regardless of whether the date goes well or poorly, you were worth a chance and that says a lot in itself.

Now that your nerves have been put to rest, go out and enjoy your date!