We’ve become a fast-paced culture. We rush to work. We run through the drive-through for fast food. We race from one activity to the next. And we hardly stop to breathe.
Unfortunately, with such a fast pace, we’ve also become an impatient culture. We want everything to happen right away. We want overnight shipping. We want instant video streaming. And we demand the highest speed internet.
Can it also be said we expect love should come as quickly and easily? Do too many of us, who have been born and bred in this fast-paced world, think love at first sight is the new norm?
Perhaps it’s time for us to evaluate why love at first sight can be a dangerous thing:
1. We don’t have time to test character.
When we rush into a relationship, we may not take the time to really get to know the person, especially their inner qualities. It’s easy for anyone to put up a facade for a short while, but it’s only after time and trials that a person’s true colors shine through. If we don’t take the time to test another’s character, we may get into difficult or even dangerous situations.
2. We get caught up in feelings.
Everyone enjoys the physical rush of a new relationship, and it’s all too easy to get caught up in those tingling, wonderful emotions and let them dictate our actions instead of operating with sound logic and thinking. That magical quality of love, while nice, can lead to rash and sometimes foolish decisions.
3. We neglect a solid foundation of friendship.
When a couple jumps into a relationship based on feelings and physical attraction, that often comes at the detriment of forming a friendship first. Without a friendship to glue a relationship together, we’re left with a shallow relationship when the feelings and physical attraction fades.
4. We let infatuation dictate our commonalities.
It’s all too easy to put aside our own dreams and values during our giddy in-love phase. But when the reality of life takes over, we don’t want to find ourselves with someone who doesn’t respect our desires or values, or someone who doesn’t enjoy the same activities that we do.
5. We overlook potential problems.
Every couple will have challenges at some point, disagreements, conflicts that need addressing. But when we fall fast and furiously in love, we’re more prone to overlook problems, to minimize differences, or to make excuses for behavior. We gloss over issues or let them pile up until eventually they seem insurmountable.
6. We have a false euphoria.
The love-at-first-sight mentality makes us think our relationship is special and different than others. That then leads us to believe that our love is invincible, that it’s meant to be, and that it will last forever without much effort. Such euphoria ignores the hard work that it takes to make a relationship last for the long haul.
Jody Hedlund knows matters of the heart. She’s a bestselling author, and her new young adult inspirational romance, “An Uncertain Choice,” is far more than a story; it’s a catalyst to help readers begin to think wisely about choosing their forever mate.
This article originally appeared on Fox News Magazine.
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