I've been thinking about this for a while. I'm a pretty analytical person (was into PUA when I was younger), so I always try to have some sort of updated rules for understanding the world. In no particular order or category, here are some bullet points that dating has taugh me so far. Please tell me what you think:

1. You probably have a pretty accurate idea of your "league", but only what it consists of when you're presentable

Unless you dress like a bum, you're horribly overweight, or you have some other thing distorting how you look - your attractiveness is more or less based on your facial structure. When it comes to how attractive a prospective partner is, you most likely know your "range" at an intuitive level. Outside of dating/hookup experience, you've learned this from picking up subtle ques like: What type of women give me looks? What type of women typically act like they're attracted around me? These are the types of women who are physically attracted to you when you look relatively presentable. Even if they don't respond to your advances - they probably would if you took care of your looks to a greater extent. Your "League" are women who show interest in your potential. And speaking of looking better:

2. Looking good is more about quantity than quality

Basically, looking good is about putting in some sort of effort in as many areas as possible and removing as many flaws as you can. Sure, you'll look really good with 8% bodyfat and a sixpack, but the ROI is pretty low compared to going from out of shape to visibly fit (V-shaped torso). Putting in the 20% of the effort that fixes 80% of the visual on as many areas as possible will have a synergic effect on your total visual appeal which makes you a lot more attractive than if you focus extensively on just one aspect such as lifting or fashion.

3. Women aren't really as picky as some people claim

Most women want a guy they're attracted to, whom they have chemistry with, share values and goals with, and who belongs to the same or a higher socioeconomic status than she does. That's pretty much it.

4. "Tit-for-tat" is basically the main principle of all early state dating

"Tit-for-Tat" is a negotiation strategy where you reward positive reinforcement by increasing your commitment, and vice versa. In the early stages of dating, this is a good guiding principle. Try to have some balance in who messages who, who asks out who etc. You should ask her out for maybe the first couple of dates, but after that you should be taking turns. In my experience a woman who likes you really well after the first date will arrange a second date during the first date. Some women won't ask you out, but will instead give you hints. This same principle can also be applied to physical escalation - she should respond with something to more or less every move you make that moves you towards a kiss.

5. Never pressure or burden the girl.

This applies to everything. If she doesn't want to have sex with you, don't relentlessly get her to change her mind. Don't keep pushing her for a date if she says she's busy. Don't try to push the relationship forward at a faster pace than she is. If you feel like you're bothering her when you're texting - stop. Even if she likes you very well, you are now a source of anxiety and stress to her. Accept that her intentions with you can only be resolved if you allow her to do this on her own, safe from any pressure or decisions that are demanded of her. This is especially important because:

6. Whatever happens now frames everything that happened earlier and will happen in the future

Humans, and especially women are emotional creatures. When we feel something positive - this influences our perception at every level - even of our memory. On the contrast, if we feel something negative - everything is perceived as such. In the first stages of dating, women are very sensitive to this. She can be all over you the first few dates - but then completely loose interest because you became excited by the prospect of her and started putting pressure on her by being needy. Even if you're not actually the needy type at all - it doesn't matter. That one instance will poison her entire perception of you both in the past and in the future. So what does this mean? In the beginning, everything that can give her a negative perception of you matters. That's why your work on your looks should be focused on covering as many flaws as possible. In the age of tinder, or in general when you're dating girls you don't know that well, remember that a lot of the process of her generating long-term interest towards you happens when you're not at a date. It happens when she discusses you with her friends, or when she looks at your social media profile. All of those things shape her perception of you. If you don't provide negative feelings - she'll start thinking about you and developing an idea of your future. In early period dating, you should focus on identifying as many potential "deal-breakers" as you can. Anything from your behavior, to your appearance, to small details in your home.

7. Be patient with the girl, be impatient with the search for girls.

In my experience, it takes women around two months of either seeing you very often (at school, work etc) or two months of dating before they really start closing in and seeing you as boyfriend material, ignoring all their other suitors. Whatever you do, the woman you're seeing will develop arousal, attraction or infatuation for you in her own tempo. You cannot change this. In order to do this, she must be able to relax and not feel pressured by you towards anything. When it comes to sex, this means that you can often make a girl who initially doesn't want sex (but with whom you're kissing/cuddling) become aroused simply by slowing down and taking some time to enjoy kissing. Once she relaxes and allows herself to enjoy the moment - she'll suddenly start becoming aroused. With dating it's similar. If she's a high quality woman, you should expect that she's dating others. In order for her to choose you, you have to make sure the dating process lasts long enough for her to slowly grow attached to you while she's also seeing others. Suddenly one day she comes home from a boring date - and you're everything that's on her mind. You can also make sure that every date you have is a bit more exciting by not having sex that early on, but kissing/fondling etc - keeping the tension and anticipation high and giving her a subconscious reason to see you again.

You shouldn't be patient with your own dating however - and you should continually see girls even if you've met someone you think could be "the one"(unless it's obvious that you're both crazy about one another). Don't let yourself feel committed to any woman before there's been a period of around two months - even if she acts like she's a sure thing. In order to avoid hurting feelings by potentially having sex with multiple women whom your are dating simultaneously, you can make sure some time passes between each time you see each girl - something like 2 weeks to begin with. This is a also a great way to make sure you're not putting too much pressure on her by moving too fast or giving her an impression that you're clearing your calendar for her.

So concludes my wall of text/dating wisdom. Discuss.