1. He doesn’t care about the texts
(and neither should you!)
I don’t know what the biggest
relationship concern was back in the days of touch-tone phones, but these days,
it’s all about a guy’s texting habits: why he used to text so much in the beginning
and then stopped, why he takes so long to reply, why he disappears for days at
a time, why his texts are so short etc. etc. The really sad/funny thing is men
have NO idea how intensely their texting habits are being scrutinized. None!
There are all kinds of reasons why
this is such an issue for women and why men are so oblivious to it, but the
takeaway is that this whole thing is a a non-issue for men. Most men see
texting as nuisance. Yeah, they’ll text a lot in the beginning when they’re
trying to win you over, but it’s not sustainable or realistic to continue at
that level indefinitely. In the beginning, it’s all new and fresh and if he’s
really into you he will be thinking about you a lot and will feel the urge to
text you frequently. After some time has passed and the relationship is a bit
more established, this urge isn’t as pressing and it begins to feel like work.
Sadly, a lot of relationships
collapse before they even get off the ground because the girl can’t handle the
sudden decrease in daily texts and instead of dealing with it, she lashes out
at the guy and demands explanations for every text he doesn’t reply to. The
mistake that many make is thinking that the sudden drop in texts means he’s
losing interest or doesn’t care. That’s not usually the case, though. Most
often, he’s just settling back into his normal routine.
Guys don’t think about relationships
as often as women do, it’s just not where their head is at. It doesn’t mean
they don’t care, it’s just not a central point of focus. Countless studies have
shown that women primarily gain their sense of worth and self-esteem through
their interpersonal relationships while men measure their worth based on their
ability to have an impact in the world and contribute in a meaningful way.
2. Men communicate through actions
more than words
We get a lot of questions that go something like: “I’m really confused, my boyfriend says he’s crazy about me and I’m the most amazing/wonderful/smart/funny/etc girl he’s ever dated but he always blows me off and he can’t hang out and doesn’t have time to talk on the phone or text back or take me out on dates and I really only see him late at night when he feels like it.” Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but close enough. Men intuitively know that words are important to women. Some men exploit this by saying things they don’t really feel or believe in order to get what they want and other men hold back from expressing how they truly feel, knowing that once the words are out there the dynamic of the relationship will irrevocably be altered.
We get a lot of questions that go something like: “I’m really confused, my boyfriend says he’s crazy about me and I’m the most amazing/wonderful/smart/funny/etc girl he’s ever dated but he always blows me off and he can’t hang out and doesn’t have time to talk on the phone or text back or take me out on dates and I really only see him late at night when he feels like it.” Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but close enough. Men intuitively know that words are important to women. Some men exploit this by saying things they don’t really feel or believe in order to get what they want and other men hold back from expressing how they truly feel, knowing that once the words are out there the dynamic of the relationship will irrevocably be altered.
If a guy says he’ll do anything for
you and then calls late at night and begs you to come over, claiming to be too
tired to make the drive over to your place, then he has a very loose definition
of anything! If he says he really cares about you and misses you but then goes
days or weeks without calling or making time to see you because he’s swamped at
work, or some excuse along those lines, what he’s really saying is you’re not
important enough to make time for.
The opposite is also true, a guy may
not be saying something with his words and instead, express how he’s
feeling through actions. For instance, let’s say a woman is in a truly
amazing relationship. The only problem is her man has yet to say those three
not so little words. She may start to obsess over why he hasn’t said it and
what it means. While she’s trapped in her head, she’ll ignore all the amazing
things he does for her, the things that should show her beyond a shadow of a
doubt that he loves her!
Love is a big and scary word for a
lot of guys. This doesn’t mean they’re incapable of feeling love, it just means
they can often have a hard time saying it out loud. Women get so tripped up in
relationships by honing in on the words while it’s really the actions that say
it all. If he is there for you, if he is considerate of you, if he goes out of
his way for you, if he opens up to you, he loves you.
Look, I don’t think I’m making any
radical claims by saying men are the less communicative of the two genders. If
you want to know where he really stands, pay closer attention to what he’s
doing and put less emphasis on what he is and isn’t saying.
3. They want to give and make you
happy, they just don’t always know how
Hold onto your seats ladies, this
might come as a major shock: men want to make you happy. Yes, that is
correct. I know it can sometimes feel like he’s intentionally trying to make
your life more difficult, and while he may be driving you nuts, deep down all
he really wants is to provide for you and give you what you need. The only
problem is he has no idea how to do it.
Men aren’t women (sorry to throw
another shocker at you there!). They aren’t able to intuit the nuances and
decipher the clues. If you want him to give you what you want, tell him what it
is that you want! The trick is to do it in a way that’s encouraging, not one
that’s threatening, demanding, or nagging. When he does something you like and
appreciate, acknowledge it and reward him for it. Show him how happy it made
you when he did such and such. Nothing is more attractive and appealing to a
man than a woman who is thoroughly happy with him. When he sees he can
make you happy, he will be motivated to do whatever he can to keep you happy.
4. He’ll get over his baggage
if he thinks he’s going to lose you
Whether it’s a breakup, a demanding
schedule, a stressful job, a painful past, it will become a non-issue the
minute a man thinks he’s losing you. Guys will resort to all kinds of excuses
to avoid being in an exclusive relationship–this usually has nothing to do with
you and everything to do with his natural aversion to being tied down (more on
this in #5). If he knows that he can give you some excuse about still being
devastated over his last relationship and you’ll stick around, then you can be
sure said “broken heart” won’t be mending anytime soon. If he senses you
will leave if he doesn’t commit (or if you
actually go ahead and say this isn’t what you want and actually cut the chord),
he’ll get his act together….fast!
It may sound like an immature game,
but why would he (or should he) put in more effort when he can get the exact
same reward? If you find a Chanel dress on sale for $20 would you absolutely
insist on paying the original market value of $2000? I mean, that’s how much
the dress is worth. The obvious answer is no, you wouldn’t. If you can get
something for less you will happily take it and would be a fool to offer more
than the minimum amount.
5. Their number one concern is
losing their freedom, always.
In the interest of making your life
better and your understanding of men crystal clear, I’m gonna skip the
sugar-coating and cut right to the heart of it: men are terrified of losing
their freedom. It may sound ridiculous or immature but it’s the truth. This is
the reason men are so afraid of commitment, it’s the reason they withdraw when
a relationship deepens, it’s the reason they go hot and cold, it’s pretty much
the reason behind almost every relationship issue you’ve ever had. Does this
mean all men want to run around and sleep with every female that crosses their
path? No. However, they will do whatever they can to hold onto the fact that
they can go out and do whatever, whenever, for as long as possible.
Men don’t want to be locked down or
shackled to the proverbial ball and chain. The nature of a man is to seek
newness, men love to live in a world of unlimited possibilities.
You might be the most wonderful
girlfriend in the whole world, but he still won’t abandon his inherent need to
be free. The best thing you can possibly do is continue to have a strong sense of self and a
life outside the relationship. Don’t rely on him to be the sole center of your
universe because the second he feels that kind of pressure, he’ll run. The
second you start pressuring him and demanding to know where he’s been and why
he hasn’t called or texted and why he’s being shady or quiet or moody, he will
feel like he’s losing his freedom and he’ll withdraw. If you persist and hound
him further, he’ll keep withdrawing until he’s nothing more than a distant memory
in your life.
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