When men and women have limited time to join the dating scene, they often go to online websites to find prospects of the opposite sex to start a relationship with. Online dating sites allow members to get to know each other by letting them screen potential dates for the things they have in common, such as a disability, or characteristics they want in a partner.

For people with disabilities, dating is even harder than it is for those with limited time in their schedule. Not only is it more difficult to get around for some, but there’s also the risk of rejection that many disabled people fear when asking someone out on a date in person.

Online dating sites are now catering to those with special needs, and some even go farther than broad conditions – they specifically target members with the exact same disease in common, such as Autism or Aspergers.

Some relationships start off from online communities not geared to dating, but with multiple options, such as friendship, support, and advice. Other sites make their intentions known – that the website helps put disabled people in touch with others also afflicted with special conditions so that they have one major issue out in the open.

Sometimes, there’s a stigma against disabled people from other disabled people. They feel they want to partner with someone not suffering from the same ailment. Other times it makes it easier for the relationship to progress because the date is someone who knows what life is like for the other person.

Disabled men and women want to be included in the fun and excitement of dating, too, without dear of incrimination from others in the online dating pool. The problem with a disabled person joining a website devoted exclusively to disabled dating is that the membership can be small.

If this is the case, you can join multiple sites and broaden your horizons. You never know what man or woman will read your profile, love everything about you, and be willing to overlook any disabilities that you fear someone will balk at.

Online dating is intimidating for almost everyone. Even the beautiful, healthy people have butterflies in their stomachs as their profile goes live and they wait while others review and critique them for the possibility of a future date. Go into the situation with confidence in who you are, and your disability will blend into the background as your personality is allowed to shine.

Sean Cash is the author of Social Network Seduction, the only step-by-step guide to getting more out of your socialnetworkseduction.com online dating efforts using your favorite Social Networks. Check it out now at socialnetworkseduction.com SocialNetworkSeduction.com.

“I’m angry at my mother!” The young waitress barely 20 years of age, said with a tight frown on her face as she poured coffee at a busy diner during the late hour of the night. “Why?” asked the curious customer with a patient listening ear. “Because as old as I am my mother still compares me to my sister.” She keeps saying why can you have a job like your sister? Why can’t you marry a man like your sister? Why can’t you have a nicer personality like your sister?” I am sick of it!” She said in a angry tone of voice as she almost cracked the coffee pot while sitting it back on the burner.

“That’s why I told her the truth tonight. I told her, If you loved me like you loved my sister maybe I would be more like her.”

The customer watched with a compassionate look while the waitress wiped a tear from her eyes with the bottom of her apron. She didn’t know why the waitress picked her to vent with but she was willing to listen.

Unknown to the waitress, the customer she so opening shared her pain with ,was still recovering from the verbal abuse of comparisons made by her ex-husband. She then began to share her experiences with the waitress. She told her about the pain of constant comparisons, her husband of only 7 years, made with her and the other women he had in his life.
She was never a good cook like his mother or sensitive to his needs like his ex-wife. He would badger her with stories about his friend’s wives and girlfriends. She often wondered why he ever married her.

As the night turned to early morning the customer had convinced the waitress to celebrate her own special qualities and not be victimized any longer. Of course it would take more work and lots of forgiveness for the people who hurt them. They both had to begin to discover how special they were.

But that night was the beginning of healing for the waitress and strengthening for the lonely customer.

Comparing someone to someone else is another form of verbal abuse. When parents make unfair comparisons with children they Often grow up rebelling or just never feeling like they ever satisfied a parent.

Comparisons say loud and clear that the person is not good enough as themselves. It never gives them the opportunity to realize a life of purpose and potential.
They are haunted by the person(s) they never measured up to.

Let’s think twice before we make comparisons. And lets think 20 times about the things that are good about who we are if someone tries to compare us to someone else.

Remember that comparing yourself to someone else might prevent you from reaching your own potential. You just might have what it takes to excel beyond the person you or someone else is comparing you to.

You may reprint this article as long as links are not placed in the body of the article. Thanks
Copyright, 2007 –Rosemary Horner

Rosemary (Rosie) Horner is an inspirational speaker and interactive presentation skills coach.
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go to rosiehorner.com rosiehorner.com

At times, we may find ourselves getting caught up in situations that are beyond our control. This is particularly true for relationships. Are you presently caught in a relationship that is only bringing you pain and heartache? Maybe it is only a struggle from time to time. Despite the frequency, what is the negative impact this is having on you? Are you giving away your self respect to have a relationship? If so, this is a high price indeed.

I’m bringing up this point because “dysfunctional relationships” is a common topic of conversation that just about every couple has experienced at one time or another. When relating the details of the relationship, they may say things like “Deep down, he’s a really sweet man” or “If you only knew the real him” or “She just needs someone who cares and finally “You just don’t understand.”

This may be true. Other people may not understand your perspective of the situation. They may only have the advice for you to simply “Get Out!” This advice usually falls on deaf ears because on some level, the people defending the dysfunctional relationship care for the other person.

Are you spending hours reading books and talking to friends in an effort to understand why your partner does the things they do? What conclusions have you reached? Do you still find yourself getting stuck?

Let me ask you another question, what are your instincts telling you to do? A lot of times we know what we “should” do but we are afraid of or don’t like the answers.

In the heat of an argument and in the initial cooling down phase, your instincts may not be at its best. Once past these emotionally charged times, your instincts will be much clearer. What are they repeatedly telling you? As a Christian, I believe this instinct is more of an inner voice of God within us. I find a great deal of comfort in this because I know I can trust in my spirituality. No matter how you look at your decision-making abilities, you need to learn how to trust and believe in yourself. Understanding is helpful and can be useful in initiating change. However, understanding does not ensure that change will occur.

Because you cannot change other people, I encourage you to focus on changing yourself. Try to get your own life in order. Strive to understand your own needs and feelings. This will be a lot easier to understand than the approach of trying to figure out someone else.

Mark Webb is the author of How To Be A Great Partner and founder of Partner Focused Relationships™. Sign up for Mark Webb’s “Relationship Strategies” Ezine ($100 Value). Just visit his website at powerfulrelationshipadvice.com powerfulrelationshipadvice.com or therelationshipspecialist.com therelationshipspecialist.com

Half of Stephen Coveys book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” deals with the habits you need to succeed in working co-operatively with other people. One of the most important concepts he talks about in this part of the book is the Emotional Bank Account. If you clearly understand this concept and apply it in your life, it can lead to tremendous improvements in your relationships with other people.

As human beings, one of our great strengths is to be able to work together cooperatively to achieve mutual benefits. This has led to all the great achievements. Sometimes it seems as if just one individual is responsible but even the great geniuses have achieved their success by “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”.

The challenge that we all face in our day to day existence is to maintain relationships of mutual trust, respect and affection with a wide variety of people. Stephen Covey in the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” introduces the concept of the emotional bank account as a tool to help maintain relationships. I believe that this is one of the most powerful concepts in the second half of the 7 Habits, if you learn it and apply, it will transform all your relationships for the better!

The Emotional Bank Account

You are no doubt familiar with a bank account – you put money in, keep there for a while until you make withdrawal. You know that if your account is in the black, it has a positive balance and it is healthy. If you take out more money than you put in your account goes into the red, the balance is negative and your bank penalizes you. If you don’t do something about a negative balance the long term consequences are a complete break down in relationships with your bank, maybe ending up in court.

The emotional bank account is very similar. You have a separate emotional bank account with each individual that you want to form strong relationships and you can make deposits into and withdrawals from this account. Deposits are things like acts of kindness, courtesy, putting the other person first, showing respect, honesty, and keeping commitments. Withdrawals are the opposite. To maintain a good healthy account with this person, you need to make more deposits than you do withdrawals.

You might think that this idea is simple, but that is its power. It’s very easy to recognise when you are strengthening your relationship and when you are weakening it. The emotional bank account gives you the ability to build relationships that you can call on in times of need, relationships that are strong enough to withstand unintentional withdrawals. You can also use it to understand why yours and other relationships are not as good as they should be.

One aspect of the emotional bank account that you need to be aware of is the frequency of deposits that you need to make. This will depend on the nature of the relationship. You can pick up with an old friend despite not having seen them for years. Yet, things can go horribly wrong with your spouse in a short space of time. The closer the relationship you have with someone, the more likely you are to make intentional or accidental withdrawals and the more often you need to make deposits into the bank account to keep it in the black!

Sometimes you may need to make a lot of deposits without much return in the short term. For example teenage children go through a very difficult stage in their lives where they transition from child to adult. At this stage you may need to make a lot of deposits to maintain your relationship and to ensure that you have a good relationship with the adult that emerges from the cocoon of childhood.

The emotional bank account is one of the most powerful concepts that Stephen Covey introduces in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. By drawing a powerful analogy with financial bank accounts, he gives us a framework that can help you to build strong, positive relationships at home, at work and at play. When you are with people you want to build a relationship with, ensure that you always strive to maintain a positive balance!

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