Another Valentine’s Day — this time with the weekend preceding it — is ahead of us, with the 14th falling on Monday. I’m concluding my third year of marriage, but that’s still leaves me less than half as many years married as I had as a member of CatholicMatch. I remember what it was like to be single, so if you’re a guy who’s struggling with being single, here are five suggestions to make it through this Valentine’s Day.
1. Control your environment. If you’re really down in the dumps about being alone on St. Valentine’s Day, don’t listen to music that reminds you of your situation. No lonely country songs and no melancholy ballads. Turn on something upbeat.
2. Don’t whine. Nothing is less attractive than someone who’s whining about being alone. It will get you pity, but it won’t get you a date. Or if it does, it will be a pity date—the worst of all worlds.
3. Do something fun. For me, I like sports, so if I were still single I’d be tuning into ESPN’s Big Monday college basketball doubleheader. But it can be anything. If you like politics, watch a talk show. If you like movies, go to the theatre. Doing things you like makes you happy, and happy people attract other happy people.
4. Contact a woman. This step presupposes you’re doing the other three. If you’re aren’t whining yourself to sleep, and you’re doing what it takes to stay upbeat, reach out and contact a woman. My blogging colleague Jessica Zimanske here at Faith, Hope & Love is giving advice to the females for how to deal with a lonely Valentine’s Day. So put two and two together and figure out that there must be a lot of women hoping a nice guy will contact them. Log onto CatholicMatch and be that guy.
5. Be grateful. Let’s be honest; I know very few guys who really look forward to Valentine’s Day. It’s a day Madison Avenue heisted from the Catholic Church and turned into a reason for the average guy to break out his credit card. You’re single and you don’t have to be a part of it. Feb. 14 is one day where the average single guy is the envy of his peers. Be grateful for it—just don’t make the mistake of expressing your gratitude too loudly, the way I just did here.
Ultimately, the steps suggested here are what the single male should be doing anyway. Put yourself in a healthy situation, do the things you enjoy and reach out from there. St. Valentine’s Day is just one more day to work on that.
