Have you ever heard someone say, “fake it till you make it”? We have, and this is the completely wrong type of mindset to have when it comes to online dating. Don’t try to act like something you are not or be something you are not.

We heard this story from one of our online dating community readers who was out on a date with a guy who showed up in a Lamborghini. They were inside of the restaurant eating their expensive meals, and out in the parking lot the beautiful Lamborghini was being placed onto a tow truck for repossession. The guy was six months behind on his car payments and living way out of his means. Don’t be like that Lame-bo guy. Just be yourself and be honest about who that person truly is.

Be Honest

Honesty truly is the best policy, especially when it comes to taking your online dating relationship out into the real world. Be honest and transparent about who you are, what you want, where you are at in your life, where you are going, and how you’re going to get there.

If you are honest about who you are, and they don’t like it, then too bad it’s their loss and they’re not the right fit for you, just say next and move on. Don’t ever try to mold yourself into what someone else thinks you should be, and never try to mold someone else into something they are not.

Be honest and straight forward about who you are. Honesty is the golden rule in all relationships.

Don’t Try to Be Perfect

We are all human and we make mistakes. Mistakes are a part of life and they are how we learn to get better with each passing day. We get food stuck in our teeth before an important presentation. We spill coffee on our white dress shirt during our morning commute to work. We forget to tell someone happy birthday until two days too late. We forget to do our laundry and then find ourselves with literally nothing to wear. Hey, it happens.

People have an unrealistic idea of how they need to present themselves to others, but the truth is we all put our pants on the same way. You do not need to try and be perfect in the early stages of dating… however, we also are not telling you to start acting like Al Bundy either (look him up on the Google’s if you are unfamiliar).

If you try to act or sound perfect, then your online dating match may be intimidated by that or even turned off and not want anything to do with you again. Trying to be perfect will work against you more times than not. It is too difficult to maintain, at one point or another you will default back to your natural ways, your less than perfect self, and the jig will be up.

Just Be Yourself

If you are a nerd, then just be a nerd and own it. If you are the fun-loving type, then be fun loving and own it. If you are an animal lover, then own it. Whatever you like and whoever you are, just be you and own it. There is only one you, there will never be another you, and no one else in the world is like you, so just be yourself. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”

The Wrap Up

The bottom line is this: being your true authentic self will always be the most attractive thing to your online dating match. People are attracted to other people, not robots, so don’t try to be perfect. Always be honest when dating online, telling the truth is the best policy, and lying will always come back to bite you in the bum cakes.