Remember that girl in high school you couldn't take your eyes off of? You thought she had ordered Cupid to aim straight for your heart and steal it away.

You know, the one you were convinced would be the mother of your children, but then realized was dating your second cousin?

You believed then that love at first sight was possible, but soon discovered that it's just another one of those Meg Ryan-kismet recipes for a Hollywood blockbuster; and you learned the hard way.
See You, See Me
You've probably heard the pickup line, "Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?" Although this line probably has a low success rate, it does get the point across for this topic.

Deep lovers -- men who fall in love madly at first contact -- tend to firmly believe in love at first sight. The problem is that they believe in it so much that every woman they frequent becomes the "love of their life."

I'm not saying that these men have a false sense of what love is, but they do have a blurred sense of what instantaneous true love represents. Above that, many become blind and only take the sexy curves and crystal eyes into account, forgetting that she can turn out to be a jealous gal or vengeful vixen, or both. These men don't see beyond the too-tight Tommy tank top.

You see, if you keep saying that every woman you date is your match made in heaven after only one encounter, then you're diminishing the effect.
One-Time Deal
If a man, on the other hand, has this feeling once in the entire course of his lifetime, then it has much more tenure. My colleague, Heidi Muller, brought up the point that love is a very volatile feeling that could only be experienced once, or maybe twice, but no more.

Paul from Arkansas, a regular AskMen reader, wrote, "I dated a bunch of women in my life, but my current wife is the only one that I had that mushy feeling for. Not counting Pamela Anderson, of course."

Have you felt that feeling with one look?


Women Believers
Women tend to fall in love more easily while in a relationship, and are quicker to commit to their men. Although women will be wary in the early stages, they will eventually open up to falling in love and commit with much more anticipation.

Some women might base their courtships on typical chick flicks that idealize and glorify the knight in shining armor who will sweep them off their feet.

Setting their sights so high, however, might actually end up hindering the bottom line for women in this fairytale-like scenario. As long as they don't keep falling in love once the next right guy comes around, these feelings can have some validity to them.

So it's really love at first sight, over and over and over again.
I'm Yours
I have this relative of mine, let's call him Fred, who is slowly killing the possibility of love at first sight from occurring altogether. He gives women 100% of himself within the first couple of dates, if he can wait that long.

He calls them repeatedly every day, plans all kinds of romantic evenings on the town, and writes poems with the most beautiful prose. Give me a break...

These mushy men will hum Lionel Richie tunes between each date, while planning the typical hand holding walk on the beach under the stars.

For you dreamy dudes out there: you have to remember that if you jump headfirst into a relationship, then you're bound to fall headfirst. And the higher up in the clouds you are, the more painful the landing.
Watch Yourself
When it comes to love at first sight, men are often blinded by beautiful women. Men often say that they do fall hard within the first moment they see a certain woman, even if she can be as annoying as Fran Drescher's laugh.

I strongly believe that men are much better off pacing themselves in the dating game and being careful about whom they offer their hearts to. We need to keep it close by so that when the right woman does come along, we'll have it handy.

Remember that having a crush on, being attracted to, and falling in love with somebody are all very different things.