Author Archives: Katherine Baldwin

I used to date in a fantasy land – a world of pink clouds, ideal partners and perfect relationships, until, after many years of singleness and dating disasters, I came back down to earth with a bump and learned to date from a grounded, mature place. Let me break this down for you, and help you avoid making the same mistakes.

If one of your goals for this year was to find love but you’ve already lost your momentum, misplaced your mojo or your self-esteem has taken a hit, I’m here to tell you that you have plenty of time and that you can get both your confidence and your enthusiasm back. If you’re in a slow patch right now or if you’ve grown disillusioned with dating, some simple steps may help you to refocus, feel better about yourself and get back on track to stay motivated to date.

January. A new year. A blank page. An opportunity to start afresh, to write the love story that we want to write. But how do we make sure our story has the desired happy ending? Here are some suggestions from my own experience, both of looking for love and writing stories.

As I contemplate the season of Advent, I’m aware more than ever of the importance of preparing ourselves for the good that is coming into our lives. Advent is a season of preparation ahead of the celebration of Christ’s birth and the day of His return – an expectant time, a hopeful time and a time to get ready for the love, joy and peace that is on its way. How can you prepare yourself for the love, joy and peace that’s coming your way?

When we’re looking for someone to love, it’s only natural to go dating with a picture in our minds of the person we want to be with, but what if this picture is sabotaging our chances of meeting the partner who’s right for us?

There’s a practice I’m trying to follow right now to take care of my health and wellbeing. It’s called substituting and the idea is that before adding something new into my life – an activity, a hobby or any sort of commitment – I must first let go of something that requires a similar amount of energy, time and space. I believe this holds true for love too. Looking back over my romantic history, there were so many things I had to let go of or give up in order to make space for love and create the right conditions for a healthy relationship. Here are five of those things.

When my single friends or coaching clients ask me for feedback on their dating profiles, I often point out that they are selling themselves short. I know these people, either personally or through my work. I know that they are vibrant and colourful, or intuitive and intelligent, or funny and friendly, or supportive and kind, or generous and open-hearted, or, in many cases, all of the above. Yet this doesn’t come across in their profiles…

Many of us go dating in the dark, without a clear picture of what we want, need, deserve or can expect from a romantic relationship. We may be so intent on meeting someone that we override our intuition, ignore red flags and open our hearts to the first person who pays us any attention. When we experience the addictive ‘falling in love’ feeling, it’s easy to think the relationship is part of God’s plan for our lives. But is it?