This is MPR's Life Kit. I'm Tonya Ballard Brown, an editor for MPR's National Desk,

and a writer for Date Lab at the Washington Post. I'm also divorced, which means that I'm dating again.

But contemplating dating when you're older or more seasoned can feel daunting,

especially if you never thought you'd be back out there. It might seem like everyone

else is all boot up and locked into some kind of relationship. So let me set the stage. If you're

coming out of divorce, right, or you're widowed, whatever it is, 48% of American adults in this

country are single. That's 118 million. And out of those, 35 million are singles over 50.

Oh, so okay, so right. You're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like, you're like,

you don't want to be a baby, you're like, hey, I'm gonna get this! I'm good numbers! People,

the pond is big. That's Belagandi, a professional dating coach and founder of SmartDating Academy.

Now, I asked her, what are the need to knows before putting yourself out there again?

You need to do some work on yourself and not you, but all of us that are re-entering the

dating world at this point to say, okay, what do I want this time around? Who is a partner

that's going to make me happy.

More importantly, what do I need in a partnership

to be happy and successful?

Does the thought of dating put a little bit of a spring

in my stuff?

Have I done the work to grow myself?

So I know what I contributed to the break-ups

with my last relationship and how am I better?

The self-work is one thing.

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