Your relationship with your girlfriend is sailing along -- you're having fun, there isn't a lot of fighting, and the sex is good. Everything seems to be working quite nicely.
But then, out of left field, she tosses you a hand grenade: she accuses you of having an affair with the new girl at work. A girl you've exchanged maybe ten words with.
After you finish picking your jaw up off the floor, you deny her accusation, but she's pouty, sullen. "I can't believe you're destroying our relationship," she tells you. "What is it? I'm not pretty enough for you anymore?"
Desperate, shaking your head in disbelief, you try to pour oil on troubled waters by apologizing for something you never did in the first place.
But it's too late. The sex is cut off. And it's only after innumerable phone calls, flower deliveries, and humiliating begging that you manage to restore harmony.
For something you never did in the first place.
What the hell happened here?
Well, my friend, you were just a victim of "The Test." And you failed it miserably.
the nasty tests women dish
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Women are like spoiled children. They are self-focused, insecure and irrational. They crave drama and games. They demand constant attention, reassurance, and above all, power in relationships. And, like children, who ceaselessly push limits to see just how much they can get away with from their parents, women relentlessly test men.
Just how do women test? Here are a few examples:
Canceling or changing plans at the last minute.
Not returning phone calls (even though she's interested in you).
Finding fault with your clothes, hair, car, etc. and pressuring you to change them.
Pouting when you want to spend time with your buddies.
Bringing up the dreaded "Where do you think this relationship is going?" question.
Acting bratty, bitchy, demanding, dramatic, picky, or manipulative to see if you will put with it.
Testing to see how nice you are (will you back down or change your behavior to suit her?).
Expecting you to ask for permission before doing any "guy stuff."
Blatantly flirting with other men in front of you.
Accusing you of doing things you didn't do.
Threatening to leave or end the relationship if she doesn't get her way.
Blaming you when you call her on her behavior.
Making you jump through all sorts of hoops.
Asking "no-win situation" questions ("Does this dress make me look fat?" ).
Playing hard-to-get -- pretending she's not interested in you when she really is, and then expecting you to keep pursuing her.
Not answering questions directly/expecting you to be a mind reader and then blaming you when you're not.
Withholding sex and making you beg for it.
"The Test" is all about control. Since women already know they control relationships with sex, they are experts at manipulating men. Their power base is granting and withdrawing attention and access to their "favors" (while making sure they extort a hefty price).
But they need more -- they need to know that their control is absolute. So they test men to see how far they can push them, to see just how much they can get away with. They test to see how insecure men are, to see how desperate they are for sex (to determine how much they can exploit them). They test to see how much they've been able to feminize men (for example, forcing them to express emotions) and so make them more controllable.
They test to reassure themselves of their physical attractiveness, to see if they can still wrap men around their fingers with their sexual power. They test to provide drama in their lives by provoking unnecessary fights and arguments.
Testing is a woman's way of keeping a man off-balance, of keeping him dancing to her tune like a puppet on a string. This is why, as soon as a man reacts to The Test by getting angry, giving in, or apologizing, he has failed. He's lost the relationship game and handed over all his male power, forever doomed to be the groveling wuss-boy who will kneel down and take anything his woman dishes out. And she loves it.
Thinking you can't win? Don't be so sure.
slam on the brakes
Here are a few tips to put the brakes on her manipulative tests:
1- Develop a test "radar." Be on the lookout for the items in the list above. Remember; it is how a man reacts to a woman's testing off the bat that will determine the course of the relationship. Once you become aware of what she's doing, it will be much easier to stop it before it starts.
2- Never get angry at her testing, and never apologize for your behavior (assuming you've done nothing wrong) -- if you do, you'll lose instantly.
3- Test her back! Try using her own tests against her and see how she reacts.
4- Stand your ground at the outset. At the first inkling of a test, put your foot down, and keep it down. Tell her that you refuse to be tested. Explain to her that if she wants to be with you, then she'll have to knock off the childish power games.
5- When all else fails, walk away. Go out and look for a woman who doesn't need to test you and who genuinely appreciates you. This is your ultimate power as a man, and the ultimate "pass" of her tests.