So I had to recalibrate my expectations, which meant I started setting a very low bar for first dates. They were just an excuse for me to meet someone who I seemed to click with, and to figure out whether I liked that person enough to go out with them again. Once I started doing this, the craziest thing started to happen: I found myself getting to know the guy I was out with much better than I had in the past. Since I had zero expectations, I wasn’t projecting a Utopian future on him. More importantly, I was actually able to take the time to figure out if I liked him, instead of worrying whether or not he liked me. And truthfully, unless the guy does something incredibly egregious, I’m usually willing to go on a second date.