Sideswipe
Honest relationship advice
1. Worry less about if they like you and more about if you even like them.
2. Rejection is not as personal as it feels. Liking someone or being liked is much more about compatibility than inherent worth.
3. Stop choosing what isn’t choosing you. If it’s not mutual, why pursue it?
4. Ask yourself: Would you be friends with this person if you weren’t physically attracted to them? Be honest.
5. Know what you want from a potential partner. What are your nonnegotiables? What are you flexible on? Then communicate your needs, don’t just think them.
6. Stop being shocked by repeated behaviour. For example, if someone has continuously shown you they aren’t a good texter, stop expecting them to be. Notice patterns and believe them.
7. You don’t need to be perfect to be loved. “Perfection” isn’t relatable. You can’t connect to it. We all have flaws and vulnerabilities, and being able to own them is one of the most attractive things we can do. The right person will embrace the things you once felt you had to hide.
8. Your love life is one area of your life. Don’t forget to nurture the rest. Significant other aside, when you visualise coming home to a life you love, what does that look like?
Ducks crossing
“Bless the guy in the white car who saved a mother duck and six ducklings from certain death on Tuesday morning,” writes Paula. “They were attempting to cross four lanes of traffic on Great North Rd outside Motat (maybe wanted pies for brekkie from Caltex?) He got out and herded them back to safety, pretty risky in peak-hour traffic. “Hopefully they’ll leave crossing the road to the chickens from now on.”