I do think with friends too. The difference is in those questions. Hanging out with buddies is just a different vibe. There's already a common interest and a camaraderie. It's an entirely different mindset and skillet to converse with someone you barely know and are simultaneously attracted to.... because of that buzz amongst other things, right? Keeping conversation going, not being too much or too little out of nervousness, slowly building that attraction into intimacy, setting the stage for someone to be comfortable with you. Some people can do that with ease, for others it's truly challenging.

There's another aspect to it too, a levelling out so to speak. Hard to explain but I'll give it a try. You know how they say to not kill your child's self esteem and self confidence they need to hear 2 positive comments or more from you for every negative one? As a mother, I can tell you that's totally true.

Well, dating generates the same sort of dynamic. For women, several bad dates in a row and you start looking for all of them to be bad. You'll come to dread or hate dating. You'll start to avoid it. "What's the point? Might as well stay home."—right? You need good dates to balance that out. To keep hope alive, so to speak.

I highly suspect it's the same with men because they're hyper sensitive to rejection. They'll get bummed or fatigued and start looking for signs of rejection where there aren't any or they'll start to act in a controlling fashion out of fear this creating exactly what they were trying to avoid. Men seem to have a zealous weakness toward multiple forms of self sabotage in dating. They're just weird like that. My grandma used to talk about it and she was right.

Anyways, it's a way to mentally reset so you don't lose hope to the point of becoming self defeating.

And that's why I mention it for you. Because remember, you're not just going out by yourself. You're going on a date ... with yourself. You're still going to go through all the motions. Take a shower, groom, put on something nice, smile, etc.

Lastly, going out with yourself gets you out there in the right frame of mind to meet someone. You know how a couple in love draws the attention of others? You can't help but notice them. It's because they're so radiantly happy they're their own sun and people are just magnetically drawn to that. Open secret is that everyone wants that just about. When you're dating yourself you're allowing your own happiness to radiate and you become magnetic; otherwise you've just always got your game face on for being in public so you don't get harassed.

I've met more men who have started up a conversation, many that led to a date, when I was already out on a date with myself than any other time. I've been asked out by my fair share of women too. Why? Because people are attracted to happy. It's universal. Older women will also make comments like, "I'm sure he won't keep you waiting long," "He must be a real looker for you to look like that," or "You just make sure he behaves himself!" And it doesn't matter if I'm wearing heels and a dress or blue jeans and sneakers. It's funny. Happens all the time.