Last Thursday evening I was walking to Gate 22 in concourse B at Chicago’s Midway Airport when I noticed an open outlet within range of my gate. Since my iPhone® was low on juice I hurried over to claim the coveted charging slot before someone else beat me to it. After hearing my phone’s chirp that indicates it’s charging I plopped down on the cold floor and leaned my back up against the electrical closet. I pulled out my laptop and opened up a new word document to begin working on a blog I had been wanting to write when my process was interrupted by an attractive blonde who I hadn’t noticed I was sharing my outlet with.
We chatted for a brief moment before she asked me to watch her luggage while she walked down the concourse to buy a bottle of water. When she returned we acknowledged each other but for some reason I didn’t try to start a conversation with her. She then began reading from her Kindle, and I went back to writing for the next few minutes before she once again asked me to watch her belongings while she went to the bathroom. When she returned we exchanged a smile but once again I couldn’t find the nerve to use even the most obvious opening line and simply ask her about where she was flying.
A few more minutes passed, and I finished writing my blog, before I realized that there was no reason why I couldn’t try to talk to this woman. Unfortunately we exchanged about 30 seconds worth of conversation before one of my players came running up to me in a semi-panic because he had misplaced his boarding pass. Since I was technically on the job I couldn’t simply put off dealing with his situation, and it wouldn’t have been appropriate for me to pass it off to another coach. I was forced to excuse myself from the conversation I was trying to begin in order to help my player.
Since this situation in the airport occurred I have played it over in my head many times, and I think what frustrates me the most is that I didn’t have the confidence to talk to a woman that I knew absolutely nothing about heading into the conversation. By being active with online dating for a while now I have gotten accustomed to having a certain amount of information about the women I am interested in heading to a conversation, including that they are single and looking to meet someone; however, when I found myself in a real-world situation I wilted.
Ultimately, as a result of this situation, I am not going to quit online dating since I have met some really great and interesting people, but at the same time I’ve realized that online dating is only one way for me to meet women. In the end I know that I need to remember there are a plethora of different places to meet people and begin relationships and that I shouldn’t be afraid of them just because I’ve gotten comfortable meeting people online.