Do any of your dating profile photos feature you posing proudly with a pet, parent or child? How about the side of your ex's head? If so, you can be sure that you are losing potential dates.
Imagine this scenario: Your potential dates are perusing your profile, their interest growing, when BAM! They see you hugging a kitty, embracing a wheelchair-bound oldster, caressing a horse. "Oh, forget it," they think. "This one won't make time for me."
Or they see you pressed up so closely to your ex that there's hair in your face that's not your own. "Oh, forget it," they think. "Recent breakup, and not smart enough to figure out that it's time to take a solo picture."
There are two main reasons these dealbreaking photos make it into profiles:
1. Showing off. You think it will impress potential dates when they see that you care for an aging relative or have an adorable pet. That you're a doting parent or role model. That you are, or at least once were, lovable.
2. Obssessive attachment. You really are so deeply attached to the person or animal in the photo that he or she has become an integral part of who you are.
Pets and relatives generally don't impress. Instead, they send the message: "I love this one SO MUCH that you will need to crowbar yourself into my life. You've been warned!" Include a cat and you are saying, "Even if you don't love me enough, which you surely won't, I will always have someone to sleep with."
So do yourself a favor. Even if you have a love beyond words for your still-vital mom or 10-year-old mutt, save this personal nugget for an email or phone conversation somewhere down the line. Showcase yourself in your profile: a smiling head shot, an action pose while participating in your favorite sport, even a travel shot. Anything but a kitty.
For more information, see www.LoveHowTo.com.
