In a miami herald article last week, Fred Gonzalez wrote about his experiences with getting back on the dating wagon after his divorce. His story is basically that he met a woman online and that they agreed to meet in person, spent the weekend together and stayed in touch for about another month before going their separate ways. Does that sound like a success story to you? Gonzalez thinks so. And his outlook reminds us to reassess our expectations about what makes a good online connection.



Not every romantic link that we make is going to be "the one" - the one that leads to a long-term relationship or whatever variation of that we're looking for. But that doesn't mean that they aren't beneficial. In Gonzalez's case, the experience reminded him that he had some things to bring to the dating table, even after his self-esteem took a blow from his divorce. That can sometimes be enough.



What do you hope to get out of online dating? Are your expectations big or are you open to seeing where things go with your new connections? If you keep an open mind, you might find that your online dates can expand parts of your personality that you didn't even know were lacking. And that even when things don't turn out the way you expect, the surprises can create some interesting results.