Author Archives: Urenna Kiwanuka

Have you ever wondered about your listening skills? Maybe you’ve had feedback in the past that you’re not very good at listening, or you’re unsure what not to do. Now you’re thinking of heading into the world of dating and want conversations to go well. If you want to have great first dates – and don’t want to be thought of as a bad listener – what should you avoid doing when you meet?

When I first met my husband, we weren’t friends. We met online, and as we got to know each other and realised we liked each other, we decided to start dating. This meant that, effectively, we were dating whilst we were still strangers. But we wanted friendship to be the foundation of our relationship, so we started building our friendship foundation whilst dating. We’ve been married 8 years now and we’re still working on that friendship – it’s a journey.

New year is a time when most people will be thinking about resolutions and making a fresh start: taking on new skills, exploring new habits and kicking out bad habits. When it comes to dating, the new year is also a great time to think about meeting new people and finding that Mr or Mrs Right. For some people, this can come with some trepidation. Fear of rejection, feeling overwhelmed, or not knowing where to start could make one give up before one even starts. I get it; I’ve been there myself. But the truth is, if you’re serious about meeting someone, you need to be brave. Here are 5 ways to do that this New Year, starting now!

This season is an exciting one but it can also be lonely. It doesn’t have to be this way. Admittedly, for single people, this can be a time when the reality of being single hits a bit harder, but this time of year can also be a great time to make connections that matter. So, how can you make the most of this season? What kind of connections might you want to consider?

Have you heard of ‘What 3 words’? It’s a system that can identify any location on Earth with a resolution of about three metres and encode it into three permanently fixed dictionary words. For example, the ‘3 words’ for 10 Downing street, London are ‘slurs.this.shark’, and the ‘3 words’ for the Eiffel tower are ‘prices.slippery.traps’. As we enter Advent, it made me think about the past year of my life and what ‘3 words’ I would use to describe it.

Most people have specifications for the type of person they would like to date or marry, but I think it is even more important to make sure that you’re the kind of person someone would like to date or marry! To do this, you need to work on yourself. The truth is, we sometimes spend so much time noticing the shortcomings in potential partners’ characters and behaviours that we fail to notice that we also have shortcomings that could do with some work. Start to prepare for dating and marriage now to go into the future feeling confident and ready.

Staying spiritually full can be challenging when you’re single. Dating itself can be full on, and whilst you’re busy planning dates and organising meet ups, it can be difficult sometimes to stay on track with your spiritual walk. Seeing friends and others couple up and get married can stir up unwanted feelings and emotions which if dwelled upon, can impact one’s spiritual life negatively. So, what can you do?

Perhaps you’ve been on the dating journey for a while and you’re thinking, “What has dating ever done for me?” Don’t give up just yet! You may not have found ‘the one’ so far, but did you know that there are many skills you can develop during the dating process? You may not have thought about it like that, but even if your journey hasn’t connected you with the perfect person just yet, you are developing life skills that will benefit you, both inside and outside of the dating world.