I see live, love and laugh on enough dating profiles that I should have written a blog about it sooner. Today I actually saw it in a headline. Instead of giving in to the urge of hunting down whoever coined that preachy bit of inanity, I’ve decided to address it in my blog.
Before you write “live, love and laugh”, ask yourself if you’re really prepared to make your dating profile sound like one of those cheesy inspirational greeting cards that are often accompanied by a xylophone soundtrack. Chances are you don’t want to sound that way.
Besides, let’s look at that quote within the online dating environment.
Let’s say someone is reading your profile and they get to the part that says “live”. Dead people don’t read so, besides being vapid, that’s redundant.
If by “live” you mean live it up or live like there’s no tomorrow then, in essence, you’re suggesting that the person leave the computer – and, therefore, your profile – and go do something more significant.
That’s not a good suggestion. Your online dating profile is like an ad. Not only do you want people to notice it, you want them to stick around and read it.
Now for the part where you order someone to “love”….as if it’s that easy. If someone could simply “love” because someone else told them to, then online dating sites would not be filled with singles seeking that evasive and much coveted emotion, would they? Telling potential online suitors to “love” is about as helpful as telling a homeless person to go find a place to live.
As for “laugh”, let’s try that on you – laugh. Did it work? Did you start laughing? I’m guessing you didn’t.
Instead of telling potential online suitors to laugh, I suggest you say something that will make them laugh. Make the effort to be clever or, at the very least, to put a smile on their faces.
In fact – make an effort all throughout your online dating. Don’t fill it with easy, meaningless quotes.
Instead of saying “live”, let people know what you’re idea of really living is all about. Talk about your interests and passions. Instead of telling someone to “love”, talk about what you love in life or talk about the kind of love and relationship you hope to find. A profile should never be written like a cheesy greeting card. It’s a personal resume that’s being used to go after something very special. So put appropriate thought, depth and care into it.
