Throw away those relationship handbooks and take a look at the fundamentals. Ian Bassingthwaighte writes.
There is a common misconception about men that is wildly flaunted about society as if it were a fact, a product of our innate inability to care about people. This misconception is that few men actually care about relationships and of those that do, the majority don’t care how to develop and strengthen them.
Maybe this is a product of all those sleazy Hollywood breakups publicized in magazines. Or maybe it’s the movies, which express our society’s expectation that a man is either suave and sexy and therefore has no need to work at a relationship (because women will always be chasing him) or he is noble and romantic, in which case his natural self perfectly suits his woman.
Well, I am neither excessively suave nor sexy and I'm not overly romantic. I am not perfect and I don’t have movie star looks. So I’m stuck in the same situation as 99 per cent of all men: I care about my significant other and therefore I must work at a relationship in order to sustain it.
My point is that most men care about relationships and all relationships take work.
A Simple Comparison
What it all boils down to is this: most people just want to know that the person they love loves them. Truly believing that your significant other loves you opens the door for compromise and forgiveness. It’s sort of like a vending machine. You put your dollar in because you trust that you’ll get your candy, but sometimes the machine eats your money and you get nothing. What is your first reaction? Well, you’re hungry and irritated that you didn’t get your food, but later on, you realize you don’t trust that machine and instead you go to the vending machine in the next building.
Without further ado, this is how one can keep their own vending machine in proper order.
Let it Go
What do most couples fight about? Frankly, nine times out of 10, people fight about who left the lights on, who should’ve cooked dinner, whose turn it is to take out the trash or some other menial thing. It’s not easy, but try just letting it go. If your significant other sees you suck it up (even if it isn’t your time to take out the trash), it’ll make them think, “Wow. That was nice. I want to be like that.”
Taking the responsibility, even when you thoroughly disagree, is a great way to show you care and it speaks much louder than swear words or slammed doors.
