While the talking stage can be fun and exhilarating, it can also be difficult if you feel like you aren’t totally clicking with the person you’re seeing. But the lack of an initial fiery passion with someone isn’t always a bad thing – especially since you burnt yourself out watching the painstakingly slow reveals of families’ newly refurbished homes on Extreme Makeover Home Edition when you were 11 and haven’t been able to feel that same level of excitement since. So here’s how you can get excited about the guy you’re seeing in spite of the fact that he’s not Ty Pennington yelling “Move that bus!”.
Invite him to do high-adrenaline activities with you.
Studies have shown that if you engage in an exciting activity with someone, your brain will often misattribute the spike in your adrenaline to the person you’re with rather than the activity itself. So try scheduling dates that include high-adrenaline activities like, say, having an EMHE marathon or trying to find out where Ty Pennington lives and then going there. Nothing gets your heart rate up like some good, old-fashioned B&E.
Be spontaneous.
Nothing can match that chaotic “Check out this new house we built you in three days!” energy, but working to incorporate spontaneity into your relationship life can still be beneficial. Change up the routine you have with the guy you’re seeing and plan something new or unexpected. Just be sure to recognize the difference between a good surprise (planning a romantic weekend getaway for the both of you) and a bad surprise (Michael Moloney designing a child’s entire room around books because they mentioned in passing that they “kind of liked reading”).
Focus on what you like about him.
Sure, he’s not Ty Pennington yelling “Move that bus!” before the show immediately cuts to a commercial break – nothing has ever come close to getting your blood pumping like that – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t aspects of his personality that you enjoy and that excite you. Think back to what excited you about him when you first started dating – maybe it was his passion for his hobbies, or his sense of humor, or the way he was a production assistant on the set of EMHE from 2009 to 2011 and could, hypothetically, give you Ty Pennington’s number.
These tips will be sure to get you more excited about the guy you’re seeing. If not, then it might be time to reevaluate if you truly see yourself in a relationship with this guy for the long-run, or if it’s just a short-term fling that shouldn’t be made into something more. Now, get out there and move that (metaphorical) bus!
