Member-only story

Everyone Deserves a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

Sometimes an initial encounter doesn’t go well. Another opportunity to get acquainted might lead to an amazing outcome.

Karl Wiegers
4 min readSep 5, 2024
A photo of a young woman frowning and showing two thumbs down.
Image by benzoix on Freepik

I learned a powerful life lesson from a date that did not go well. The poor date was entirely my fault; I make no excuses. I was not in a good state of mind, distracted by thoughts of another woman who had just broken up with me. I wasn’t focused on Chris during our date, even though she was much more my type.

I’d known Chris for several years; we worked at the same company. We had joked around and even flirted a bit. I thought she was cute and funny so I asked her out. But I wasn’t good company that night. We watched a boring movie, and neither of us had much fun. I felt bad afterward because I hadn’t responded properly to her cheerful and friendly behavior.

Two months later I was in a much better mood. One Friday afternoon I stopped by Chris’s office and excitedly told her about my new car. I inquired what she was doing that evening. “Oh, just the usual,” she replied, meaning “Nothing at all.”

On the spur of the moment, I invited Chris to go to a movie with me that night in my new car. Before she could connect brain to mouth, she said yes. Later, though, she told me…

--

--

Karl Wiegers
Karl Wiegers

Written by Karl Wiegers

Author of 14 books, mostly on software. PhD in organic chemistry. Guitars, wine, and military history fill the voids. karlwiegers.com and processimpact.com

Responses (1)