Red Flags in Relationships

Mumford and Sons for the quote, theberry.com for the photo 

Sometimes they are clearer, and sometimes we refuse to see them when they are staring us in the face.

Here is an example of a few red flags I experienced while on a date with a dude:  

Exhibit A:

Guy: “I don’t really see why people make such a big deal about Tex Mex.”

Me: “What.”

later on in the conversation... 

Guy: “I would say Daughtry and Nickleback are a few of my favorite bands”

Me: “Oh.”

Needless to say I didn’t go on too many dates with “Exhibit A” guy.  How in the world could someone say Tex Mex isn’t that great? This young man was from the North so his ability to understand the beauty of Mexican food was quite limited. I pity his nights. They are obviously filled with unfortunate music and a lack of great tacos and fajitas.

My silly examples are easy flags that allowed me to quickly weed out Northerner dude. Unfortunately, I could bore you with many instances where I have refused to see the warning signs that a relationship isn’t going to work, but that would probably take up most of your lovely Monday afternoon/evening.  Instead I would like to focus on how we can avoid staying too long in a relationship that contains multiple red flags.

Please understand that my examples in Exhibit A are very clear instances of red flags that are specific to my taste in music and food, so I would advise my readers to first know what they want in a significant other/relationship and go from there. The funny thing is, the dude I was on a date with could see my love for Tex Mex and severe dislike of Nickelback to be red flags as well. Opinions are fun, right?  So first know what you like/want and go from there!

 My second piece of advice would be to seek counsel in those who hold an unbiased opinion about your relationship with the potential significant other.  Explain your concerns or the conversations you have had with the potential mate and listen to what your friend or mentor says about them.  There have been far too many instances where I would have been much better off had I heeded the advice of my wise friends/mentors.

New relationships can be tricky to navigate, but if you know what you want and have the wisdom of friends around you, the possibility of heartbreak is significantly diminished.

Make good choices ;) and Happy Monday!