Dating After Divorce - What's With the Shortage of Men?

As a Dating Coach, clients ask me all sorts ofon your perspective. Whatever you focus on
questions. But one of the most frequent is a concernbecomes your reality. I often quote this Universal
about the shortage of men.principle from Hawaiian Shamanism: "Energy Goes
One client, Charlotte told me that everywhere she'sWhere Attention Flows."
lived, people tell her there are no available men. ForThe question is - Do you want your focus to be
example, when she moved to Oregon at 32 for"There are no men"? I think not.
graduate school, local women announced there wereGood men exist all around - and PS, you only need
no single men in town. Then she moved to Seattleone right? The Universe is an amazingly abundant
two years later and was told it's a couples place andplace so heighten your awareness of the abundant
the locals aren't friendly.aspects by trying one of these exercises:
Later Charlotte moved to New York City where the- Count the leaves on any tree (or pine needles
problems of single women are legendary, followed byduring the winter)
a move to Connecticut, a state filled with families and- Count the stars in the night sky
married folks. Next she moved to Spain to discover- Count the grains of sand on the beach
that her Spanish teacher and friends lament the- Count the blades of grass in your lawn or the park
shortage of men.None of these things can really be counted and
Charlotte wanted to know how to deal with hearingalthough each option does have an actual finite
that there are no men, wherever she is living andnumber -who can get there? That's the whole point.
made it clear that she had no intention of moving toThere are more available men than you can count,
Alaska (all those men working on the oil pipeline). Sheregardless of your location.
also mentioned how curious it is that she has neverHere's the real challenge - how to start looking for
once lived in a place where people said, "Boy, are youevidence to prove there IS AN ABUNDANCE. This
lucky! This place is crawling with great, available guys!"requires shifting your perspective and preventing
I hear you Charlotte - loud and clear! And Iyourself from falling back on old habits, noticing LACK.
appreciate your frustration, but I don't agree withChances are very strong that you'll start to notice
this concept or believe there is a shortage.men that you never would have even seen before.
Think about other statements that people haveThat's because a person's mind will be open to collect
made throughout history which were not true:new data using this perspective. And as Martha
- Everyone said the earth was flatStewart says, "That's a good thing."
- Everyone said the Emperor's new clothes were fineI hope this perspective has opened your mind (and
- Everyone said sky lab would fall on our headsCharlotte's) and inspired you to start noticing the
- Everyone said the computers would go wacky forgreat men that are all around every day. One woman
Y2KI know met her husband in WalMart - she was
Did any of these things happen? Were any of thesewalking in and he was walking out. Another met her
things actually true?husband in the dog park where they both walked
No, No, No!their dogs. Still another met her long-term partner
In 1987, Newsweek ran an article that claimed abuying sheets in Bed, Bath, & Beyond. These
single woman 35+ had a better chance of gettingbits of romantic kismet happen every day,
abducted by terrorists than to get married. I thinkeverywhere. What will you do make yourself
you know which one happened to me.available and cross paths with your soul mate?
I suggest that Charlotte and all other single womenI tell my over 40 dating coaching clients to get out
ignore what people say. "They" (whoever they are)there, smile, be friendly, be grateful and aware of the
don't seem to have a very accurate track recordgreat catch you are, and enjoy the wonderful life
with these type of far-reaching statements.you have. This will make you highly attractive, get
Instead, take a moment to remember a veryyou out there, and help you cross paths with
important philosophical question: Is the glass half fullprospects to sort and find the right man. I did it, and
or half empty? Truth be told, either way it's thethat's why I know you can too.
same amount of liquid. The difference is based solely