Your buddy Dave has been single for three years and thinks "hey u up" is a valid strategy. Your other buddy Mike just got dumped and told you to "just be yourself."
You showed them her text. You asked them to decode the emoji. You drafted four responses and sent the screenshot to the group chat for a vote.
She's been waiting forty minutes.
Put the phone down. Stop crowdsourcing your love life. Type something that sounds like you. Hit send. Then go do literally anything else with your evening.
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.
konmai said:how do you guys handle it? i'm close to not even having an ego left.
konmai said:how do you guys handle it? i'm close to not even having an ego left.
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.
I agree.VladPatton said:You blow it off, reset yourself, and go again. However, make sure you're not setting YOURSELF up for these rejections. You can't complain about losing a paintball tournament if you go there with a slingshot and the other guys have mad fast guns.
Funny you say that as I experience the exact same thing. I've come to believe that it all comes down to their perception of you. Once someone has made up their mind about you, there's little you can do to change it. It becomes their reality whether it's actually true or not. When you're smaller/thinner and quiet, you're insecure and shy, but if you're bigger/taller you're the strong silent confident type. People will always make up their own "truths".konmai said:also, what i find baffling is other dudes can be quiet, and no one really says anything about it. but when i'm quiet, all eyes on me. people make a big deal out of it. not sure what that's about.
You asked her if she wanted to grab coffee. Then you asked if the time worked. Then you asked if the place was okay. Then you asked if she'd prefer tea.
Four questions. Four chances for her to say no. Four signals that you're terrified of making a decision.
Plan it. Pick the place. Pick the time. Tell her where to meet you. She'll either show up or she won't.
Either way, you look like a man instead of a scared little boy.