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.
Forget the cash, the cars, and the chiseled jawlines. Female desire operates on a completely different frequency. Primal. Subconscious. Triggers that bypass her logic and hit her on a gut level. Most guys are totally blind to them.
I know because I was one of them. The overthinking. The paralysis. The silent drive home kicking yourself for freezing up. Watching average guys walk away with the girl while you stood there stuck in your own head.
Then I decoded the psychology behind what actually makes women tick. 22 hard rules. Subtle behavioral shifts that rewired my entire reality. The anxiety evaporated. Women started leaning in. Investing. Chasing.
Exactly. Post of the dayFrancisco d'Anconia said:When considered, it's not much different than why men cheat; unfulfilled needs.
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.
IT'S NEVER INNOCENT FLIRTING. A woman has no business pursuing any prolonged flirting with any man while in a relationship. Same thing with going to clubs. They have no business doing these things. It always "just happens" and people take no responsibility that "I just like flirting and preferred wild sex and male attention at the expense of my relationship." Nooooo, of course not... "it happened to me." Things don't just happen. Someone or you made it happen. Trash.The first few months were fine, but I soon found myself becoming extremely attracted to my lab partner, Henry. What began as innocent flirting eventually wound up with us in bed. After the program was over, I returned home to Greg.
It might not be much different, but the way it's looked at is entirely different. When men cheat they're "dogs" "players"..when women cheat it's because he wasn't attentive enough, he didn't do this right, or that right. See how women assume the victim role?Francisco d'Anconia said:When considered, it's not much different than why men cheat; unfulfilled needs.
When a woman says it, guys hear a confession. A heads-up. A scheduling conflict.
Here's the translation: I don't feel anything. Right now. With you.
Watch what happens when a man triggers actual attraction. The busy career, the recent breakup, the "not in a place to date" — all of it evaporates instantly. The same woman who was guarding her freedom is suddenly free every night.
The "22 Rules" explain why. When the right switches flip, her timeline rearranges itself around you.
I totally agree. Total double-standard that comes from outdated notions of chivalry.Mr_knowit_all said:It might not be much different, but the way it's looked at is entirely different. When men cheat they're "dogs" "players"..when women cheat it's because he wasn't attentive enough, he didn't do this right, or that right. See how women assume the victim role?
A lot of women have figured out that real power comes from playing the victim. If you can demonize men, you've pretty much got a free ride through life.
Eh, labels are as subjective as the labeler. Perhaps if men could give a voice to the reasons why they cheat it may not have such a bad face. Understand that not all women will call guys "dogs" or "players" if they weren't let to believe that there was any exclusivity, the ones that do are more than likely female AFCs who allow themselves to be taken advantage of numerous times. The real difference that I've noticed between infidelity is that women are better at it.Mr_knowit_all said:It might not be much different, but the way it's looked at is entirely different. When men cheat they're "dogs" "players"..when women cheat it's because he wasn't attentive enough, he didn't do this right, or that right. See how women assume the victim role?
A lot of women have figured out that real power comes from playing the victim. If you can demonize men, you've pretty much got a free ride through life.
Gold.THE_ADDMAN said:Guys, if you keep fixing yourself to satisfy each of her problems, she'll just keep giving you problems to fix. And where does that leave you?
Cmon, whos she trying to fool? Thats not reality me girl.Reason #7: To give him a taste of his own medicine
“My last boyfriend was a total player before we got together. I thought I could change him, but I was wrong. I always heard rumors that he was hooking up with other girls while we were dating, but he always denied it. One night, I got a call from a girl he had been seeing, and she detailed their three-month-long relationship to me and told me about another girl she had discovered he was seeing as well. I was so mad that I went out with my friends that night, dressed to kill, and went home with the hottest guy I could find; I felt like it was the least he deserved! I loved seeing the look on his face when I told him about what I did and that I knew about the other girls. And then I dumped him!”
– Ashante, 25, College Park, GA
Excellent post. You've succinctly identified the main problem in most contemporary relationships. Guys are entering the woman's reality. They're going to counseling, learning how to be a better mate. But what about the female? It's almost ubiquitous in today's society how men are made to be apologetic buffoons, who should be happy to have a snotty, controlling wife.THE_ADDMAN said:yup. from that article, I didnt see any remorse from the words of the girls. most of them felt their boyfriends deserved it.
The "give him a taste of his own medicine" gave it away. Not that it is right for the guy to cheat, but the reason, and the fact that she enjoyed seeing the guy's face when he found out.
Milrenkb, your list for nipping it in the bud has lots of good information, but what I find, and that list supports this, is that its always the MEN who have to change to suit the womans needs. its the MEN who lack the passion. its the MEN who have to share her interests, so she doesnt run off and cheat with another guy who DOES share her interests. (and think of it the other way, if the woman has no passion and the guy cheats, how "justifiable" is it?)
Guys, if you keep fixing yourself to satisfy each of her problems, she'll just keep giving you problems to fix. And where does that leave you?
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.
I don't think we're upset about contributing to a relationship. I think the point trying to be made here is that an unfair burden is placed on men when it comes to relationships.Francisco d'Anconia said:I can see why some of you guys are so upset, you feel that contributing to a relationship means that you're being taking advantage of. Understand that people seldom go into a relationship expecting to cheat, they only consider it if a need isn't being met. Not everyone can fulfill those needs. No reason to get upset about it, it's just a fact.
"Men are men"?Mr_knowit_all said:Francisco, I'm glad to see you're big on accepting responibility, but I don't think it's wrong to point out unfairness when it's warranted. A lot of your posts have an undertone to them that gives the impression that you're above the fray, and we're just whiners for complaining about this stuff. While I agree that a lot of our problems are caused by our own issues, sometimes that's not the case. Men are men; we're not superhuman.
I think you misinterpreted what I meant when I said men are men. What I was saying is that men don't have magical powers to know how to react in every situation, and if they make a mistake, that doesn't let the woman off the hook entirely.Francisco d'Anconia said:"Men are men"?
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C'mon, this is what I'm talking about, as if men are less than women just because.... I get the feeling that you guys are getting this "above the fray" impression of me not entirely because because I ambut because you guys believe you aren't! What kind of noise is that? Anyone, and I do mean anyone has the ability to sever the fray. Keep in mind what David Deangelo says when confronted by an obstacle, "Nothing I can't handle..."
I was talking to some guys over the weekend about this very thing, about how men are denigrated via the media which feeds the psyche of impressionable women. First and foremost, this doesn't include all women, just the problematic ones. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO AVOID THEM! But what one of the guys told me that he read that it's a new era for men if they choose to embrace it; a "Menaissainse."
It's a time that men stop complaining about the stereotypes (and also fulfilling them) and make a change, to do something different; to make their own rules and adhere to them and Cosmo be damned! It doesn't take a Herculean effort to do it either. We're supposed to be the more logical and analytical of the sexes. Why is it always a "us against them" attitude when it comes to women. We have enough of our own resources to not only learn how women function but to also find the best course of action to engage them.
We have control over our actions as well as our attitudes. An article like this should be gold to us giving insight into what women are thinking and their subsequent actions. But somehow threads end up talking about just saying "screw it" and implying that it's a losing cause. It's only that way if we let it. I really feel that if guys took time to understand what drives women they would cut their frustration by half, or at least feel that they have a chance.
All men have the ability to:
- Sarge whomever they want
- Next whomever they want
- Do any thing which they want
- Re-act any way that they want
These things alone evens the playing field for every individual man, if only he chooses to take advantage of it.
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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.