A good kiss is a moment out of time, so savor it. Don't feel like you must immediately move forward or have something to do next. Just enjoy the kiss! More often than not, the two of you will naturally find something to talk about, do, or just keep on kissing -- so let the moment just happen.  In general, the best advice is just to go slow. Don't rush into anything. Instead, just take a breath and slow down your thoughts. The best advice for responding after a kiss is to follow your heart. It sounds cliche, but all kisses are different, and you will know what to do if you just trust yourself. After the kiss, pull your head back slowly to give each of you some space. If you wrapped a hand around each other, you can lightly ease off, or hold each other close for a more intimate moment. As you peel back, a simple, small smile is a great way to show your emotions without having to think of anything suave to say. More likely than not, there will be some nervous, happy giggles and smiles either way, but don't worry if you have "nothing to say." This giddy, semi-awkward moment is the perfect way to show how much you enjoy each other without movie-perfect quotes. You could also:  Run your hands through their hair. Pull them in for a hug. Wrap your arms around them, or cup their face. Nuzzle your noses against each other. Keep your faces, like forehead and nose, touching. Hold each other for a quiet moment alone. Post first kiss, no matter the circumstances, can often get a little awkward. And that is okay! Learn to embrace this moment, which is honestly less awkward and more exciting, without feeling like you need to say something. Most "smooth" lines that people come up with after kisses are laughably bad -- a smile and a simple "I liked that," is often more than enough.  Don't overthink things! Just keep being yourself. If you feel confident and have something to say, say it! Even if it is a little corny, more likely than not he/she will laugh. A first kiss is just one step in a relationship, so don't put so much significance on it that you forget to be yourself. While things may be a little different for a day or two, there is no reason why a single kiss needs to change how you treat each other. The more you treat a kiss as a small growth in a larger relationship, and not the single most important moment in your lives, then it is doubtful that this will be your last kiss.

Summary: Enjoy the moment slowly, without worrying about next steps. Ease back out of the kiss, keeping yourself close to your partner's face. Look your partner in the eyes and smile. Try not to force in any lines, quotes, or jokes to break the awkwardness. Continue building your relationship after your first kiss.


Okay, so you got fired. You got dumped. You injured your leg. Does this mean you should look for a new job, join OkCupid, or start training for a marathon ASAP? Of course not. Give your situation a little bit of time until you feel calm enough to make a rational decision. Obviously, you should start looking for new work sooner than you should start training for a race with an injured leg, but you get the picture. If you try to solve the problem directly after the setback, you're likely to make a decision out of desperation and despair, not from a rational standpoint. Watch the entire first season of The Killing. Take a long walk every day for a week. Don't do anything that would make you wallow or be upset, but clear your mind, do something different, and start to heal. This is another important part of dealing with disappointment. You can't keep thinking that the world is completely unfair, and that what happened to you was completely horrible. Okay, so maybe it was, but it happened, and there's nothing you can do to make it un-happen. It was in the past, and this is your present. And if you want to have a better future, then you have to accept the past for what it was, however unpleasant it may be. Obviously, you need to "practice" acceptance because it won't happen overnight. Let's say your husband cheated on you -- are you going to "accept" that overnight? Obviously not, but you can come to a place where thinking about it no longer leaves you feeling completely angry and bitter. Sure, hanging out with Mom or your best friend Mindy might not help you improve your career or find a new place to live, but it can make you feel better about the process. You'll see that you have so many great relationships in your life, and that you have an awesome support system that can help you through it all. Though you don't have to rehash the disappointment with everyone, just having them there will make you feel like you're not so alone with your pain. Don't force yourself into loud social outings if you're not feeling up to it; hang out with your friends and family in low-key settings. The old plan didn't work out for you, did it? That's perfectly okay. Ships have to change courses in the middle of the night all the time to avoid unforeseen obstacles, and so will you. Find a new way to get to that dream career, to find that perfect man, or to make your dream charity come to life. Maybe you've had a setback in your health and won't be able to walk for a few months. Work with a physical therapist to make a plan for success. Take a look at your life in a new way. How can you still follow your dreams, make yourself happy, but move things around? Talk to people who know what they're doing. If you're a teacher who is struggling with your job, talk to the principal. If you're trying to make it as an artist, see if there are other artists in your city who will be willing to offer some insight. Call a family friend who knows something about having to relocate to an unpleasant location for a job. Talk to your mom about what it was like when she went through her divorce. Though every situation is different, getting advice from different people (provided that you trust them), will give you more direction and will make you see that plenty of other people are struggling, too. So you may not become director of the writing program at your small college. But there's a new reading series that opened up and they want you to be in charge. Dash at the opportunity to do something new that can give you experience, help you work with a variety of people, and give you more confidence about achieving your goals. If you only want to do thing A, B, or C, then you'll be turning a blind eye when opportunity Z, the best opportunity of all, struts right by you.  A new person can be a new opportunity, too. Don't close off and hang out with the same circle of friends; a new friend can bring new momentum and energy to your life. Maybe you've only looked for work as a high school teacher and just can't get a break. Why not try something different but related, like teaching community college? It can still be a great opportunity that will give you the experience you need. The Nobel-Prize-winning author, Alice Munro, didn't publish a book until she was 37, Steve Jobs was a college dropout, and Matthew McConaughey cleaned chicken coops before he became a star. Look at the lives of other people who dealt with major disappointments before coming out the other end with more guts and more appreciation for what they have. If success was served up on a silver platter, then it wouldn't be worth the struggle, would it?
Summary: Take a break. Practice acceptance. Spend time with close friends and family. Make a new plan. Seek advice. Be open to new opportunities. Get inspired.