It's irrelevant my good man.LOL. I think if he concludes it is not acceptable behavior and like you said, it's a physical manifestation in how much he thinks about himself he will do better.
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
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.
It's irrelevant my good man.LOL. I think if he concludes it is not acceptable behavior and like you said, it's a physical manifestation in how much he thinks about himself he will do better.
You've said it a hundred times. Maybe a thousand. And every time you say it, you train your brain to freeze the next time she walks into the room.
Leagues are a myth invented by guys who are scared of women.
She's a person. She has bad breath in the morning. She picks songs she can't sing in the shower. She overthinks her own texts.
Walk over. Say something. The league dissolves the second you open your mouth.
Sometimes they won't feel the pain but do an even tighter "death spiral" if they are abusing alcohol or weed for example. But yes that pain is very motivating to do something about it.There are two types of motivation.
There is people who a driven by an inner force, a motivation to own the world. They are PURSUING something.
And there is the second type (mine), which can be even stronger but happens sporadically. They are motivated by pain. When pain is unbearable, they will do everything to get AWAY from it. It can be an incredibly strong motivation and life changing.
It's sad, but as everyone said, your brother will need to experience extreme pain to finally find the motivation to get away from it.
We have all been there, that's why the majority of us is here. But this pain can be extremely beneficial if used properly. Just be there for him at that point to show him the light.
Yes, true.Old thread but there is nothing more saddening to see someone close to you who is still plugged in.
Sadly it is often only during trauma that we can unplug the AFCs. It is only in this raw state that they will finally open their eyes.
I don't agree. The dude is your brother- you care for him and want the best for him.The conclusion was that I was being codependent.
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.
Maybe. Or, the whale will continue to cling to his brother like a leech because she knows she can't do better, then they get married and have kids. Game over. But as the OP said, oh well it's his life. Let em f*ck it up. Just try to enjoy the show.fatty will dump him for the next guy that has front row seats to the buffet....
The one consolation is that he is anti-marriage and fvcking hates kids.Maybe. Or, the whale will continue to cling to his brother like a leech because she knows she can't do better, then they get married and have kids. Game over. But as the OP said, oh well it's his life. Let em f*ck it up. Just try to enjoy the show.
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.
My sentiments exactly compadre..Geez.....poor guy. I wonder if anyone can truly be happy settling. I know that I can't.
Interesting theory.It's true @Lozboss that emotional trauma at the hands of a woman is the only true way to snap out of AFCness
It's how I snapped out of mine
I find that the hardest thing to do is change someone's mind
People 'see the light' and change their ways when they see the way those close to them live their lives
Obviously you've read the opening post and hurriedly jumped to give your premature assessment. This is an old thread and I updated simply to give a conclusion. In fact, the conclusion is more about what I have learned from the situation. Feel free to comment on the conclusion on the thread but I feel it's pointless to further assess the initial opening post when it's been done previously AND concluded.If he chooses mediocrity for himself then that is all he deserves. If he does not strive for something better then he will never get it. You cannot help him, he can only help himself.
I believe I can deduce his problem... He has no self-esteem, he must have lost it over a series of personal cataclysms. Thus, he feels that his own self is worthless and thus he only deserves the undeserving company of that revolting woman. Hmmmm... I wonder if you can enhance his self-esteem, get a few attractive women friends of yours to help you out and hit on him to make him think he is better than that. If he gets positive reinforcement from women it would be evidence to him that he settled. Therefore, he will look at that whale and wonder if he can do better which may be the spark that can ignite a flame. It is not about convincing... Convincing rarely works on people. It is about being subtle, and planting the seed of a notion in his mind, make him wonder if he is better and if he can do better.
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.
Well that's pretty rudeAlso, going by your "advice", either you lack reading comprehension skills or it demonstrates you were all too eager and overexcited to caste your "assessment". It might be worth looking into.
That's your perception.Well that's pretty rude
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.