I often hear such statements like "He is not my type." or "She is not my type." It’s funny to hear people describe the qualities that they are looking for in a perfect dating and relationship partner as well as their absolute deal-breakers and how they define what their "type" is. Many people and especially women like to emphasize the qualities that they must see in the member of the opposite sex in order to consider dating him / her.

The reality of most people’s lives, however, clearly proves that none of us really have a "type." The truth is that most people end up dating, having long-term relationships and marrying a person who doesn’t fully fit or even defies their pre-set type. And this isn’t surprising to anybody who understands and remembers that a romantic partner is more than a sum of its qualities. Feeling attraction and love takes more than just meeting certain criteria that we believe must be filled before we fall in love with a certain person. The best proof of this phenomenon is the fact that sometimes we meet someone who does meet all our requirements and seems to be perfect in every way and yet we don’t experience any of those romantic feelings and emotions.

Even purely physical requirements aren’t really all that “solid” for most of us. I have seen too many guys who would “only go for blonds” end up falling for brunettes. I have also seen many women who have a strong preference for tall guys to end up in a great relationship with a man of their height or even shorter.

Even physical beauty comes in all colors and shapes. Let’s take Beyonce Knowles as just one random example. The award winning pop star would lose and gain 20 lbs and … men have a hard time deciding at what weight she is more attractive and more sexy.

So, do you think you have a “type?” If so, think again. The circle of the people who you might be interested is probably much larger than you think. You just have to make sure that you give yourself and them a fair chance to get to know you and show you who they really are.