Are you like the many women over the ages who have tried their hardest to understand men? Have you spent enough time reading up on them, sitting down to talk about them and even taking the time to talk directly to them, but you still don't get it? Do you doubt women will ever truly understand men and all their complexities? Quite frankly, I believe a part of the problem is not so much in understanding men as it is in accepting men.
At our deepest core, we know what men want and need, but it doesn't suit our purposes so we choose to ignore them or try to change them.
From a very early age we try to change boys so as to better suit our purpose.
We want them to sit still and be quiet.
We want them to listen.
We want them to be 'nice.
' The result? A bunch of frustrated guys who just can't be happy in a relationship because they're not permitted to be happy on their own terms.
Read on to get a true understanding of men and how you can be happy with the truth.
The Provider Men, at their core, want to know that they have a purpose in life, and they want to feel that they have a purpose in a relationship.
Part of that has been diminished with the advent of women in the workforce.
Whether it's an unconscious sense of competition or a sincere desire to better himself, many men will push and strive to better themselves and their salary.
They put in extra hours or even bring work home in the hopes of getting that great promotion and pay raise.
Yet, what do we do? We criticize them for working too much.
We complain because they don't spend enough time with us.
The Social Butterfly After all that hard work, a guy wants to sit back, relax, throw back a few and perhaps enjoy a game on a wide screen.
All of this in the company of some good buddies, of course.
He wants to forget the grind of the day and let go.
He doesn't want to do dishes, wash the kids or fold towels.
He wants an evening to escape and simply be a guy.
And, what do we do? We criticize them for going out too much.
We complain because they don't spend enough time at home...
with us.
The Doting Father When he is home he wants to play with the kids.
He wants fun interaction, like throwing a baseball with his son, or playing horsy with his little girl.
He doesn't care if the house is a bit of a mess and he isn't concerned with the fact that his son is wearing the wrong jeans.
He just wants to have fun and be the father he wants to be.
And, can you believe it? What do we do? We criticize him for playing the wrong way.
We complain when he doesn't do with the kids what we would do.
Understanding men really isn't all that complicated.
It truly is a matter of widening your horizons and accepting another person's point of view.
Once you can accept that, you'll be well on your way to having a relationship that has a true chance of succeeding.