I remember in college there was this girl I was crazy about, her name was Theresa and she was incredibly attractive. Don’t get me wrong, I was no slouch either, I was handsome and the starting Center fielder for the Varsity Baseball team, people knew me. Theresa was in demand and there was never a moment when I didn’t see her with an entourage of potential beaus and hot chick wannabes’. To make a long story short, I began dating this woman of my dreams and for almost a month we went to dinners, movies and the usual things you would imagine on a date. It was a month of having a great looking woman on my arm; it was also one of the most boring months of my life!

This woman and I had nothing in common, and we spoke about very little, this also made the physical part of the relationship quite under-whelming. It was about this point in my life that I realized something, if I dated those who had similar interests not only did I have a fun girlfriend that understood what makes me tick, but a great new friend as well. From past experience I can tell you that having someone that shares your passion for life and enjoys the same activities or tastes in music and the arts will without a doubt, strengthen the relationship. I would even say that it is much more important to have someone that is your best friend than someone whose only selling point is their looks. Now, don’t get me wrong, looks definitely do not hurt, but on the attractiveness scale of 1-10, similar interests are worth a point or two.

Lets look at it this way, say you are an avid fly fisherman and one of the things you enjoy most in life is flying off to a remote location to spend a few days in pursuit of the elusive rainbow trout.  Your significant other may not understand your need to leave her behind yet explaining that where you are going there are no day spas or fashionable bistros or possibly even no electricity. Even after explaining this, she may still not understand why she is not invited. Of course you can’t just come right out and say it’s because she will basically ruin the trip by whining and complaining. Now lets look at the same scenario but with a significant other who also enjoys outdoors adventure and is fully capable of handling herself.  Sharing a trip such as this can only bring a couple closer, of course there are plenty of other things you could argue about, but leaving the other at home is not going to be one of them. In this situation you are also building memories that could last a lifetime.

OK, so if you think the previous example may have been a bit extreme, lets try an easier one. Suppose you are a big fan of raunchy comedies such as Borat and Jackass, but your girlfriend is a big fan of classic chick flicks and any movies made from the novels of Nora Roberts.  There is a very good likelihood that the two of you will not be able to agree on what movie to go see, or perhaps even what television shows to watch.  This often leads to spending even more time apart as one of you will be watching one show in the living room and the other will be watching in the bedroom.

I’m not saying that similar interests are the end all be all to a relationship, but they are certainly very important to long-term bliss. So the next time you are getting all nuts about some very attractive woman you need to decide on two key factors, is this person a long term possibility or are you just looking for some no strings attached fun. If its long term, then make certain that that you and she are compatible and share various interests and goals. For the short term, well, just have fun and make sure both of you know where it stands and are both on the same page to avoid someone getting too hurt. Aside from that, life is good, go out and enjoy!