You paid for dinner. You drove. You said "whatever you want is fine" every single time. All the effort, no expectations.
And she left anyway — probably for a guy who makes her pick up the pizza.
Painful. Also predictable. Her mind quietly concludes that anything requiring zero effort from her is worth exactly zero. You became a free sample, and free samples get taken for granted.
The 22 Rules flip the dynamic. Small shifts that get her investing effort, money, and time in you — until SHE'S the one afraid of losing YOU.
She asks it casually, mid-sip. And you feel the floor open up, because the honest answer is work, gym, and a couple shows you're half-watching.
Women rarely say this out loud, but a man with a life is attractive before he says a word. The guy who spent Saturday deep-sea fishing and came back with photos and a story — he walks in already interesting.
The "22 Rules" pushed me to build a life worth talking about. Turns out the fastest way to be interesting to women is to be interested in your own life first.
Dinner ran three hours. She laughed at everything. You walked her to her car thinking this one's locked in.
Then: nothing. Two texts. No reply. What happened?
You did what most men do on a great date. You filled every silence, answered every question, and left her with nothing to wonder about. No mystery. Nothing to sit with when she got home.
Rule 3 of the "22 Rules" changes the ending: tell her a little, hold back the rest, and let her imagination do the chasing. The ghosting stops too.
If you find out your current girlfriend was roofied and gangraped at a fraternity party in college, you're gonna look at her differently...possibly(probably?) even to the point that you'll end the relationship because of it. Is it fair to her, to be judged for something that isn't really her fault, and could've happened to anyone? Nope, but damaged goods are damaged goods, and not everyone can handle that type of information...not to mention the fact that her experience will probably come with a whole host of hangups(and understandably so) for you to deal with.
So, I'm not only not surprised this guy is about to get dumped(probably as delicately as she can manage), but I would advise any man to keep such experiences to himself. If you need to talk to someone, a priest or psychiatrist are probably your safest bets, because, at least, that info will go no further. Even telling your best friend is an iffy proposition -- especially these days, when so many men gossip nearly as much as the Heehaww Honeys. If you can't even keep your own secrets, though, should you really expect anyone else to?
By rights, should a little boy who was molested or a woman who was raped be made to feel ashamed of their experience, as if it were their fault? Of course not...but if you don't know that labeling yourself with your worst experiences will adversely influence how others see you, then you don't know anything about the human condition.
Your girlfriend isn't your mommy. Don't cry to her about when your uncle touched you in your no-no zone, unless you expect the further dissemination of that information to enhance your social standing -- which it won't. Is that "fair"? Is it "fair" that one of your ancient ancestors walked outside his cave to take a piss, one night, and got eaten by a saber-toothed tiger, or that there's an 8% chance one of your female ancestors was raped by Genghis Khan?
Life isn't "fair." So-fuucking-what?
If it would bother you to know your girl had been raped, how could you expect it to not bother her to learn that YOU had been raped...when so much of her attraction to you depends of her illusion of your invincibility/invulnerability . The saddest part of that story is that he was probably following his shrink's advice, by telling her...and now, in the social media age, even moving to a new town isn't going to save him from that cat that he himself let out of the bag.
Both retardedI was trying to think of something similar to say but you said it well. If the shoe were on the other foot most Sosuavers would tell the guy it's okay to dump her. The bottom line is she can't choose her feelings, and he deserves someone who'll respect him, anyway.
As for telling her...I think it's in the way that you tell her (if at all). Save the crying for your therapist and work that shyt out. If you're going to tell your girl, you should be at a point where you're not letting the event take ownership of you. A very red pilled friend of mine told me he was molested (not raped) as a kid. It just came up in conversation and he said it happened to him, and he talked about how he made sure not to let it define him and who he is. He'd had some therapy long ago and got past it. He was telling me about it like he would have described falling off a ladder. I could see he didn't need a hug or my sympathy. I'm sure he'd had the support he needed long ago from his family or a therapist.
She's not judging him.She's judging him NOW.
If she starts to lose it ignore her. Do something else. There is a ebb and flow Thats part of reality.Gross sh!t but honestly, you can't make a woman love you. If she starts to lose interest it is gone brother. Best to find you another woman, maybe one worth it.
Next Monday you'll feel more confident. After the gym you'll feel more confident. After one more drink you'll feel more confident. After you get a better haircut, a better jacket, a better job.
You've been "getting ready" for two years.
She's standing ten feet away right now. She'll be gone in four minutes. No amount of preparation will manufacture the courage that only comes from moving your feet.
Walk over. Stumble through the first sentence. Let it be clumsy. Let it be imperfect. You will feel more alive in those ten seconds than you have all month.
A lot of tough guys who are excessively dominant were one time beaten or raped. That's really fvcked up of her.View attachment 4215
Kinda f*cked up.. but further proof that women will devalue you completely if you do (or in this case experience) anything that emasculates you.
That's the first thing I thought when I read this. The standard advice to men on this forum has always been if you encounter a woman who says she was raped or molested is to run fast, and run far.I was trying to think of something similar to say but you said it well. If the shoe were on the other foot most Sosuavers would tell the guy it's okay to dump her.
I could talk to any woman I wasn't attracted to. Charming, funny, relaxed. Then a gorgeous woman looked my way and I'd become a sweating, babbling mess.
The fix took me years to find and ten minutes to learn. Nervousness and excitement are the same physical state — pounding heart, adrenaline, flushed face. Your brain just picks the label. And you can pick a better one.
Rule 16 shows you how. You feel the nerves, relabel them as excitement, and let that energy pour out as enthusiasm. Women notice the guy radiating it. They always do.
It's not the same. A man will overcome this to be a stronger man so it won't happen again.That's the first thing I thought when I read this. The standard advice to men on this forum has always been if you encounter a woman who says she was raped or molested is to run fast, and run far.
[QUOTE
It's the beautiful illusion of love, that you've found your "other half," that a secret shared is a secret kept(which only works if it's also her secret), and that the union of souls is permanent. In the real world, the woman who would die for you, today, is just as likely to want you dead, tomorrow(or at some other insufficiently distant future date), and vice versa. That's the nature of romantic love, and why telling your secrets to a woman on a perfumed pillow is like stepping into a time machine, and delivering the same secrets to a woman who hates you. Love is more powerful than sodium pentothal.
Perhaps. I've known males who were molested though, and I would have to say it left them at least a little messed up.It's not the same. A man will overcome this to be a stronger man so it won't happen again.
Good at sex but an entire week and a half difficulty performing. I wonder if he told her a week and a half ago and HER energy changed. Causing him not to be aroused.As was said earlier, she's not judging, she's just admittedly not attracted to him. It's not something you can force or choose.
I think everyone has a right and an obligation to worry about herself. It doesn't mean she's immature or lacks empathy. At 20 she's mature enough to recognize that relationships work best when each party derives genuine happiness from them. If she is just sucking it up to please him and others it won't work. Her doubt is only over what others will think (e.g. her friend). It wouldn't be fair to this guy if she stayed with him for appearances or shame from others.
I DO think she could give it a few more months and then she how she feels, since the erectile dysfunction and confidence issue may have been because of his fear to disclose. But she still would have to be true to herself.
The guy also "just started" seeing a therapist so I think he's got some progress to make.
Agreed. I’m with you in that the reasonable course of action would be to wait a bit & see. And she should be true to herself as well. Thing is with women as we all know...emotions can be irrational. It can be difficult to behave rationally in the situation. But it’s also true you cannot negotiate desire...however desire ebbs and flows over time in a LTR as well. This couple may be too young & inexperienced to know that.As was said earlier, she's not judging, she's just admittedly not attracted to him. It's not something you can force or choose.
I think everyone has a right and an obligation to worry about herself. It doesn't mean she's immature or lacks empathy. At 20 she's mature enough to recognize that relationships work best when each party derives genuine happiness from them. If she is just sucking it up to please him and others it won't work. Her doubt is only over what others will think (e.g. her friend). It wouldn't be fair to this guy if she stayed with him for appearances or shame from others.
I DO think she could give it a few more months and then she how she feels, since the erectile dysfunction and confidence issue may have been because of his fear to disclose. But she still would have to be true to herself.
The guy also "just started" seeing a therapist so I think he's got some progress to make.
You've replayed it a hundred times. She stood three feet away, scrolling her phone. You had an opening. You composed the perfect line — after she was gone.
For all you know, she's married now. To some guy who said something. Anything.
Openers are cheap. Almost any sentence works when it's delivered within three seconds. The expensive part is the standing there, drafting and deleting, while the window quietly closes.
The "22 Rules" stripped out my hesitation. What to open with, how to keep it alive, and the one habit that costs guys more women than anything else: waiting for perfect.