Are you wondering how to find love in 2021 that ends the loneliness in your life in the new year?  In spite of ongoing covid-19?  In spite of lockdown?

The great news is that it’s a very promising time to find love that meets the calling of your heart! You are currently living in what I call the Age of Abundant Love.  Research shows that now one in three marriages in the U. S. begins online. Online relationships progress to marriage faster. And they are happier marriages! Digital dating has improved the landscape of love. And Covid has not slowed that down!

In fact, the social isolation and loneliness of lockdown has actually increased digital dating. Since March of 2020 Bumble has had a 26% increase in number of messages sent.  And Tinder conversations have been 10-30% longer!

RELATED POST: DATING DURING COVID-19

So here are Five Steps to make love happen for you in the coming year.

How to Find Love in 2021, Step 1:  Have a ‘New You’ Zoom Party with Your Besties!

Invite one or two of you best friends who love you to a ‘New You’ Zoom party where they give you a ‘makeover.’ Take them into your closet via your phone and show them your clothes and accessories.  Ask them about getting rid of unflattering stuff and putting together some hot new looks for you. Ask them for referrals to great hair salons or cool clothing stores or sites. Find a look that makes you feel great—that makes you feel like your high-value Diamond Self (best self identity!).

The friends who love you can see your beautiful one-of-a-kind self.  They appreciate you in a way that is hard to appreciate yourself.  Don’t feel like you are imposing—there is usually nothing that your friends like more than giving you advice!  While you’re at it, tell them you are looking to meet someone great and to keep you in mind.  Email or text the same message to any other buddies who did not make the party.

How to Find Love in 2021, Step 2:  Prioritize Finding Love

If you didn’t have a job and needed money—looking for one would be your absolute top priority. You would spend hours posting and searching sites like LinkedIn, scanning online recruiters, asking your friends, and jumping on any leads. On the other hand, finding love probably ranks pretty low on your to do list.  Think about it!

Do you spend hours binge-watching your favorite shows, Facebooking, e-mailing, texting, surfing, or shopping on Amazon because you have nothing better to do to fill your quarantine time?  Are you busy drinking and eating a bit too much or playing your digital game?  Are you better at planning your next binge-watch fest on Netflix than planning your dating life?

How about making a decision to change that in 2021?  One single, real decision to put your love life first and foremost will change everything.  One sincere decision will make it happen for you! Study after study has shown that relationships are treasured above all else when we think about what has meant the most in our lives. So make finding love in 2021 a top priority.

How to Find Love in 2021, Step 3:  Go to Virtual Mentastic Activities

Look at the thousands of events, meetups and group activities that are happening online through Meetup.com, Zoom and other outlets, which I call Mentastic activities.  These are things that are highly interesting to you that have lots of men in them—like investment classes, virtual artificial intelligence conferences, guitar workshops—you get the idea.  Places where you can meet fabulous guys who share your exact interest. Try to see if there are more local groups in your area to concentrate on. You can strike up great messaging conversations with the interesting guys and see where it all goes.

How to Find Love in 2021, Step 4: Work Your Digital Dating Program

Throw out your old photo and profile.  Have a friend who is a good photographer, make that a great photographer, take 100 head shots of you in order to get one that looks especially warm, attractive and inviting.  Get some opposite-sex friends to help you pick out the best photo and work on your profile. Ask them what they love about  you and be sure to include all of that great stuff in your new profile!  Sign up for two digital dating sites.  I like Match (no affiliation) and Tinder (no affiliation)  because they have so many people on them and this gives you lots of choices.

Dating is a numbers game. After you post your photo and new profile,  spend at least three hours a week looking around digitally, sending and responding to messages and ultimately connecting by Zoom, Facetime, phone and (safely) in person with people.  Block out time in your daily calendar to work the program.

RELATED POST: HOW TO FIND YOUR SOULMATE

How to Find Love in 2021, Step 5: Date Against Type

Most people do not find love with the type of person they imagine for themselves.  The woman who dates starving artists winds up marrying a rich, balding lawyer. Love almost always comes in surprise packages.  Look at photos and profiles that you would ordinarily take a quick pass on.  If you always go for the sleek metro-sexual, give the Midwesterner who just moved to your town a try.  If you go for the hotties, try someone who is has a heart of gold and maybe only a B+ on looks.  Try and experiment.

Even if you are not exactly blown away by a person at the first Zoom or Facetime date, remember to stay open.  You cannot know what secret goodies are hidden in someone just by meeting them once.  You have to let a potential partner unfold and show you his different sides.  If there is any connection with this person at all, give it another chance. Love almost always comes in a surprise package.

Now you have your five-step plan for how to find love in the coming year! If you want help with ending your loneliness once and for all, have a Breakthrough-to-Love session with one of my gifted coaches.  It is free, but time-limited. xo