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.
She calls you when her car breaks down. When she needs help moving. When some guy she's actually dating treats her badly.
You're the listener. The reliable one. The guy who would treat her so much better, if she'd just open her eyes.
She won't. You trained her to see you as the low-effort option — the friend who requires zero risk and zero investment. Every favor dug the hole deeper.
The "22 Rules" break the pattern. You'll stop auditioning for a role she already cast and become the man she chases instead. It starts with Rule 1.
I understand perfectly how much she likes you. You said yourself how much she likes you. Here's a reminder of how much you said she likes you:JLW said:MacAvoy, I don't think you understand how much this girl really likes me.
You know what your real problem is. Even more so than the fact she is going to screw you around. The real problem is:JLW said:hanging out with 5 guys and getting drunk with them? I mean I'm pretty secure with myself and everything, but not THAT secure.
I am not saying don't love or care for a women. Love is a two way street, it is about having respect for the other person. My women would never disrespect me by being alone with another man let alone getting drunk with another man.JLW said:This is the only girl that I've truly loved and I don't really want to break up with her.
That sentence contains at least five follow-up questions she WANTS you to ask. Where in Florida? What brought you here? How long have you been in the area? What do you miss? How does it compare to here?
She handed them to you on a silver platter. And you said, "Oh cool. I come here every week. I love this band. Ummm... pretty crowded tonight."
She smiled politely. Nodded. And never texted you back.
I was that guy for years. Talking too much. Listening too little. Panicking about my next sentence while she was literally feeding me the answers.
Then I found 22 rules that fixed the whole thing. Rule number one: shut up and listen. She'll tell you exactly what to say.
The next step you take largely depends on how far gone everything is with this women. If things havve already soured past the point of saving, then, just completely walk away.trajhenkhet02 said:If you have the opportunity ask her if you can go to one of these little outings. If she says "no" for whatever reason I think the issue will be much clearer for you.
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.
I can agree with that. Ill also say this: If she just does too many things that just pisses you off. Leave her. Its just annoying after awhile to hear that shell change and then I find something else that doesnt go well in my stomach. Thats my last girlfriend in a nutshell.MacAvoy said:The next step you take largely depends on how far gone everything is with this women. If things havve already soured past the point of saving, then, just completely walk away.
*smacks head* Please stop posting here, as you obviously have very little experience with this; either that, or you've learned very little from whatever experience you do have. In a relationship, you can't be this trigger-happy. It's not an ONS he's talking about. When there is a problem, then you TALK to the person and ONLY if there is absolutely no way to resolve it and no willingness to compromise from either side, only THEN do you start thinking about breaking up, IF the problem is big enough to warrant that.MacAvoy said:There is no doubt what to do about this situation. Walk away like a man with your pride. Tell her that you understand she is still young and has the need for self-gratification. Let her know that you have no need for someone in your life that needs gratification from other men to satisfy her needs.
Let her know that you've enjoyed her company and that if she decides that she is ready to be in a two way respectful relationship then to give you a call.
The most important thing at this point is not to get into a name calling contest with her. She is going to be upset and throw a fit. Whatever you do, don't get sucked in. Walk away very calmly.
I've got ten bux that says if you do, you'll have her eating out of your hands afterwards if you want. If you just walk away, she'll be thinking about you for years to come wondering .... what if ....
The one above has no brains; you've got no balls. The adminds need to start deleting accounts...MacDiddy said:You need to weasel this request
You're perfectly right about the changing part, but you can't expect someone to change something that they don't even KNOW is in need of changing! And just because he thinks it is, doesn't AUTOMATICALLY make it so. While he still IS correct (because behavior like that has no place in an LTR), she obviously sees it differently. He should TALK To her and explain what the problem is. Most of the time, little **** like this can be resolved with a simple conversation.KontrollerX said:Well I'm of the view you can't really change people they have to want to change themselves so I typically drop chicks like this
Attraction runs on a clock.
She flirted for weeks. Touched your arm. Found reasons to be alone with you. And you were careful. Respectful. Waiting for the right moment.
The moment had a shelf life. It expired around month two, and by the time you asked her out, she'd quietly filed you under "little brother."
One of the hardest lessons inside the 22 Rules: women rarely wait. Interest either grows or it decays, and nothing decays it faster than a man who never moves.
Make the move while she's still inventing reasons to be near you.
OK MR AFC. We should all start taking your advice and TALKING ONLY to women about our feelings and see where that gets us. Your the one who really needs to smack your head and stop posting here. You've bought into the fairy tale society has force fed you. For someone who's been a member here since 2003 you haven't learned anything about being a DJ.Krassus said:*smacks head* Please stop posting here, as you obviously have very little experience with this; either that, or you've learned very little from whatever experience you do have. In a relationship, you can't be this trigger-happy. It's not an ONS he's talking about. When there is a problem, then you TALK to the person and ONLY if there is absolutely no way to resolve it and no willingness to compromise from either side, only THEN do you start thinking about breaking up, IF the problem is big enough to warrant that.
So my advice accomplished the stated goal. It gave him the power back in the relationship and had the women eating out of his hand.JLW said:Well, here's what happened.
I took MacAvoy's and everybody's advice. I tried to dump her.
She basically said, "No, what is it that will make you happy?"
she says, "NO, WAIT. What if I stopped drinking, including with other guys?"
She replies, "It isn't your decision to make me stop drinking. It's mine. I want to stop drinking because I want to be with you."
I explained to her how she was being unreasonable but she insisted that it was what she really wanted.
I still haven't decided what I'm going to do.
So yea. I swallowed all my AFC crap about "how she's the only one I loved blah blah blah".
So I mean, I might stay with her. I realize after (trying) to break up with her that I really don't need her. But I mean she decided on her own that she would stop drinking, and it was very, very sincere.