This describes my situation (somewhat). I’m a 30 year old guy, and I’ve never been good at dating. I’ve had two girlfriends in my lifetime (one of which was serious while the other one wasn’t), and neither ended up working out. While I do think of myself as being good at talking to people and having conversations, dating involves flirting, trying to escalate things, and being “good” at the process (and that’s just not me).
I’ve decided that I really just want to stop thinking about dating, since it really hasn’t been a good experience for me. Focusing too much on dating just makes me feel like I’m somehow not enough, and I don’t want to feel like that anymore. I’d much rather lean into my hobbies, interests, and passions. My career is going well, and I’ve got a lot of personal projects to keep me busy. Of course, focusing more of my friends (male and female) is something I also want to prioritize.
The issue is that walking away from dating is harder than it may seem. My parents don’t understand me all that well, since they want to see me settle down, like someone my age should do (their words, not mine). Many of my friends don’t understand it either, since they view me as a very funny and sociable person (with a lot of good qualities and a good foundation for the future). In their eyes, me giving up is a waste because I’m “one of the good ones.”
Tldr: just didn’t feel happy trying to date anymore. It’s never been easy for me and I’ve never really been that good at it. I feel like I’d rather just give up on all that, and really focus on the things that do make me happy (as opposed to sitting around trying to figure out why I’m not successful at something I don’t properly understand). Can anyone relate? And do you have any advice?