Category Archives: Heroes – Mobile Book

04Dec/16

Protectors And Warriors – Some women can be very, very bossy.

Some women can be very, very bossy. Sometimes I wonder if some of them are born that way

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Case example

A man married a widow with three young daughters. He moved into their home. One morning he let the dogs into the kitchen. The cute little 7 year old in her pink pyjamas promptly pointed her finger at him, wagged it up and down and in THAT tone of voice said: “Uncle John, in this house, we don’t let the dogs in. Don’t let me catch you doing it again.” Men do not like it if anybody points fingers at them, not even cute little 7 year olds in pink pyjamas.

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Never ask “Why”

Another fatal mistake women make when communicating with men is to ask “why.” To a man “why” translates to: “You don’t know what you are doing, you incompetent stupid fool.” All men, without exception agree on this one.

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Case example

A husband and his wife travel in the car. She innocently asks him: “Lovey, why are you driving this route?” What he hears is: “Listen you stupid dumb fool, you don’t know where you are going.” Believe me when I tell this story, all the men burst out laughing and then agree that is exactly what they hear.

If his buddy had asked the same question he would have answered: “Because I heard on the radio there are road works on the usual road.” But because the “why” came from his wife or girlfriend, he regards it as a vote of no confidence. He is her hero at all times and he is in control of the situation. There should be no reason for her to doubt him. The same applies to “Why don’t you tell your boss….” “Why don’t you use the star screwdriver…” DELETE THE WORD WHY.

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I asked the men what would be an acceptable rephrase of “why” and the following suggestions came up: “This is interesting. How come…” or “I don’t understand how …” or “You have probably thought about this, but maybe it’s a good idea to …” Do not say: “Can you explain to me…” because that sounds like his mother or teacher. If the woman approaches the issue in one of these alternative ways and he just stares at her, it means he heard her and he thinks her suggestion is a bloody good idea. Does she really expect him to verbalise that it’s a good idea? For Pete’s sake, he is a man. Then he goes off and he does it the way she suggested. Then she should not tell him: “I told you so.” She should just tell him how great he is and that he is her hero. And mean it. He knows.

The typical vote of no confidence

Speaking about cars. This is a potentially disastrous area. Women are prone to tell a man how he should drive! A man is a strong capable warrior in charge of a heavy dangerous, complicated, expensive machine and he has her life in his trust.

And then she tells him what to do? The woman should not doubt his ability to handle this machine. She should rather sit back, relax and look out of the window if looking ahead makes her nervous. If he gets lost, so what. Don’t say anything. He knows.

What is more important? Her relationship with this man or the first 15 minutes of a movie that she may be missing? Men usually only start driving recklessly when women complain about their driving. It’s a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe she can pre-empt the situation with a comment like: “I get nervous in a car, but I know you will take it gently and look after me.” Anyway guys, you are supposed to protect her, so man-up and make her feel safe, rather than driving like a jerk to scare her. The pay-off of feeling like a hero by keeping her safe, is much greater than feeling like an ass who tried to show-off. (Tip to the men: Driving recklessly may impress other males, but it only scares a woman and if you scare her, she sure as hell is not going to sleep with you! Get it?)

Men are exceptionally sensitive to criticism and often experience even seemingly innocent comments as a vote of no confidence. And yes, it has to do with their egos. I have no problem with men’s egos. They need egos, they are warriors. They defend us. Without egos they are not men. If a woman can’t deal with a man’s ego, she  should date a woman. I do also agree that some egos are vastly inflated, but we will discuss that later.

04Dec/16

Protectors And Warriors – When he can’t fix it

When he can’t fix it

A man wants to tend to a woman’s problems. Fixing a problem is a heroic action. However, when he cannot fix the problem for some reason, he has one of two reactions. He will either attack her or ignore her.

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Case example

A woman is crying because her dog died. The man says: “Stop crying!” And he goes and buys her another puppy. Or he ignores her, gets in his car and drives off and she thinks: “You heartless idiot.” And he returns with a puppy. In both cases the man can’t understand why she did not want the puppy? Men are very pragmatic. He fixed the problem by replacing the puppy.

Actually he would do anything to make her stop crying. Men are clueless about what to do when a woman cries, because they don’t know how to fix the problem. (Here is a tip guys: When she cries, just hold her. Don’t say anything. Just hold her. That’s it.) If women can only understand that his strange or boorish actions are due to his frustrations, because if he can’t fix her problem he is the anti-hero. And he hates being the anti-hero. So he walks away and ignores her, or worse, he yells at her. And women have to understand this about men. I did not say it is fair. It’s just the way it is.

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A colleague of mine explained men are empathic on a cognitive level, as opposed to women who are empathic on an emotional level. Men need to separate themselves from the emotional content in order to make objective decisions to solve the problem.

On an intellectual level they understand the emotion, but they cannot allow themselves to be submerged in the emotion, for then they would not be able to take rational action. Men are action orientated, remember.

Sometimes he does try to hug her and just hold her and then she pushes him away. He is trying. Acknowledge it.

There are times however, guys, when women really need you to step up. When your wife calls you in tears because she just had a car accident, it is not the time to attack her, or ignore her. Bite your tongue.

If a woman criticises everything a man does and if she does everything herself, he feels useless and inadequate. It is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately it originates in childhood with mothers doing everything for their sons, and continuously criticising their boys. Fathers usually get upset when mothers do too much for the boys, for it is in a man’s nature TO BE ACTIVE and to figure it out for himself. Praising him for figuring it out will boost his self-esteem.

Doing it for him or criticising him conveys the message that he is incompetent. How would he be able to fix adult problems and fight dragons if he is not taught to figure it out for himself as a young boy. Denying him this natural growth opportunity and being over-protective is actually psychological castration.

At about the age of 6, boys need to identify with a father figure and get involved in male activities, without a mother hovering around trying to protect them from the father figure. (This was the age when young boys were taken away from their Spartan mothers and turned into warriors.)

I have encountered many grown men who have terrible adult relationships with their mothers, because they resent the mothers’ smothering them as children. As adult men they often punish their mothers in various ways, usually by avoiding them and cutting them out of their adult lives, in an attempt to get even for childhood wounds incurred.

This act in itself makes them feel as anti-heroes, which exacerbates the situation. They often also have exaggerated over-reactions when any woman engages in a nurturing action that reminds them of their mothers – even just packing them a lunch box or reminding them to take their vitamins.

Telling him to take his vitamins, is acting like his mother. Just leaving vitamins out for him to take, without verbally reminding him, is supportive and showing you care about his health.

04Dec/16

Protectors And Warriors – Helping and supporting has a different meaning to men and women

Helping and supporting has a different meaning to men and women

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Case example

An unemployed engineer complained to me that he wished his girlfriend would support him. His girlfriend, on the other hand, told me she supported him, but he refused to co-operate. I realised here was a communication problem. She told me she supported him in the following manner: “When I get home at night after a long day’s work, I tell him, come sit by me and I will update your CV on the computer. Then he just gives me a look and resumes watching television. Also, I bought all the engineering magazines and cut out all the ads looking for engineers and I told him to follow them up.” Usually, when I read this verbatim quote to men, they cringe.

She is telling him what to do, she is doing it for him. That is not helping or supporting him. That is a vote of no confidence. I asked the man how he would like her to support him. He answered: “She can just tell me she believes in me. She can tell me I am only going through a bad patch, but things will pick up and I am the best engineer in the world. That will inspire me.” Women talk, men do. Generally, if women tell men how great they are, then they inspire the men into action.

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One man explained: “Men do not want to be seen as failures. Being unemployed is a major failure. If she can just assure him that she is there, that she will not leave him and that he is not alone in that mess, then she is supportive.”

Men want to resolve women’s problems. When she tells him about something, he feels obliged to fix it for her. He wants to be the hero and help her. For example, she tells him about some problem she had at work with a co-worker. He interrupts and wants to know what the outcome was. He needs to determine how he can fix it. Often he is surprised that she has already fixed it. “Then why tell me about it?” he asks. Because she wants to TELL you about it. Women talk, get it! A man will never tell another man: “I had a flat tyre today and I changed it.” A woman will.

One of my clients has the following agreement with his wife. When she wants to tell him about something he asks: “Is this an issue you want me to do something about, or can I just sit and scratch my butt while listening?” So determine if it is a problem or just a butt scratcher. If it is only a butt scratcher, the man just needs to sit and listen and make the appropriate noises. “And what are the appropriate noises?” ask the men. Just say: “And what did you say… and what did she say… and what did you say…” and pay attention to her. You would want her to pay attention to you when you tell her something.

04Dec/16

Protectors and Warriors – Stop telling them what to do

Stop telling them what to do

Women talk, men do. Many women, unfortunately, have this astounding idea that they can and should tell men what to do. Men are men. They are strong warriors and they know what to do. They resent it when a woman tells them what to do. Several things happen when a woman tells a man to do something. Firstly she is communicating to him that she is trying to control his life. When we try to control someone, it is a vote of no confidence in their own capabilities.

He is the hero – he is in charge of his life. Secondly, telling is a descending communication. It is a  command. The woman is not the man’s commander. Trust him. Don’t tell him. One man told me: “Women talk to men as if they are boys. If I don’t know how to do something, I will figure it out.” Or he will read the manual while on the toilet.

 

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Case example

A woman was dating a father of a baby daughter. She told him over the phone: “Leave the baby with your Mom for the night and drive over to my place. I never see you.” He did not. He did not even answer his phone for the rest of the weekend. (I can already see all the men nodding their heads.) She was telling him what to do, giving him instructions. And she was criticising him. And she was being demanding.

And she was trying to control him. If she had said: “I am missing you and would like to see you. Is it possible for your Mom to babysit and can you visit me? It would make me happy,” he would have made a plan.

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Communicating a need does not imply using that TONE OF VOICE and ordering him about.

 

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Case example

It was early evening. The wife was busy tending to the baby. “You make dinner,” she said to the husband who had just arrived home. She did not ask nicely, but he just nodded and proceeded to take the meat from the fridge. “You have to defrost it first and then cook it …” she continued. He prepared the food silently and went to bed early. Don’t ask a man to do something and then tell him how to do it.

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Don’t help a man. He is an action hero. He can do it himself

Some women do not tell men what to do, but they do help men. Women are by nature very helpful creatures.

For example when a woman in a queue at a check-out counter, tells the woman behind her, she forgot an item and dashes off to fetch it, the one behind will push the absent woman’s trolley for her. Generally, men won’t push another man’s trolley. To women it is sociable to help. To men it is a sign of weakness. Never help a man. Unless he asks, which he seldom will, and then don’t make a fuss about it. A woman should not offer to help a man paint the chairs.

She can ask if she can join him. He may ask her to help him change the tyre and to pass him the thingamajig. She should not tell him how her Dad had taught her to change the tyre and that he is doing it all wrong. If he is struggling to unlock the front door, she should not take the key out of his hand, not even if he is a bit tipsy. Does she just have to stand there and wait patiently until he gets it right? Yes, and then she smiles and thanks him. I did not say it is fair.

One man explained it as follows: “Core to a woman’s essence is her appearance. Therefore a man should not tell her to go on a diet because she is fat. Core to a man’s essence is his competence. Therefore a woman should not tell him to get a professional, because he is useless at fixing things. If she goes on a diet of her own accord, then he can support her, and if he gets a professional of his own accord, then she can thank him.”

 

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Case example

The woman arrives home with a car full of groceries. He comes out and asks or tells her he will carry the grocery bags in for her. Naturally she picks up a few bags…Don’t touch the bags! She is conveying the message to him that he is not strong enough to do this simple task for her. The same goes for luggage. She can enter the house and start unpacking the groceries.

She can also pop open a can of beer for him when he’s done. (All the men agreed unanimously on this one.) What does she do when one of those bags tear and the tin cans roll down the driveway? She looks the other way and pretends she did not see. Anyway, she is supposed to be in the kitchen unpacking the groceries, not in the driveway. She can laugh with him about it later, but only when he already has the beer in his hand.

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04Dec/16

Protectors And Warriors – Needs vs. Needy

Needs vs. Needy

A man wants a woman to communicate her needs to him. How else would he be able to fulfill her needs, if he does not know what she wants? He can’t read her mind, so she has to tell him. However it often happens, once she communicates her needs, he calls her “needy”.

So I ask the men, what is the difference between a woman communicating her needs and a needy woman? A man wants a woman to need him, but he does not want her to be helpless and her needs must not distract him too much from his quest and require his full-time attention.

It’s fine for her to communicate her needs, but it depends how she does it and if she is persistent, she is needy. Timing is very important too – if it interferes with something else he would rather do, she is needy. If she shows appreciation, he is likely to continue fulfilling her needs, if she criticises, she is needy.

One man explained: “Like women, men need me-time too. When she clings to you like a heart-lung machine, she is needy. When I speak to another woman and she suddenly grabs my arm, interrupts and kisses my face, it is embarrassing and she is very needy.” One man gave me a very clear and precise answer – the difference between having needs and being needy is: “Nagging.”

Regarding timing, one man commented: “If she tells me she needs it done immediately and I drop whatever I planned doing, to do it for her, and I later discover it was not that urgent at all, then next time she requires me to do something urgently, I will disregard her ideas of how and when things need to be done. If she tells me why she needs it, I can determine how urgent it is.”

 

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Case example

A man liked a certain woman, but dreaded visiting her, because he knew that would entail them sitting on the couch and talking. He was an introvert and shy and the thought of having nothing to say to her caused him much anxiety. Eventually he plucked up the courage and rang her doorbell. It was out of order. He called her and she opened the door. “Bring me a screwdriver,” he said, “so I can fix this doorbell.”

She did. “Since I am busy fixing this, do you have anything else that needs repairing?” he asked. She did. He spent the whole afternoon adjusting the geysers, changing light bulbs, fixing hair dryers, backwashing the pool pump and all the other bothersome little odd jobs.

She brought him coffee while he was working and they chatted. She also thanked him every time for repairing and adjusting everything and she smiled a lot. He later told me he had never had such a great time getting to know a girl. He was the action man, DOING stuff for her, and she was appreciative, TELLING him how great he is. Perfect.

If he feels needed and he can do something for her, which she cannot do on her own, then he feels good about himself as a man.

One man also explained: “If what she requires of me involves a heroic deed, I will do it, but I am also not just her puppy at her beck and call just because she wants me to hang around. Then she is needy. I have stuff to do.” Warriors have dragons to fight.

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pantheonRead More About: Introverts and Extroverts

04Dec/16

Protectors and Warriors – Men don’t talk. They do

Men don’t talk they do.

Men don’t talk. They do

When we buy a doll for a girl, we buy her a Barbie doll. When we buy a ‘’doll’’ for a boy, we buy him an action hero – a Superman. The word “action” is very important. I often advise women not to pay too much attention to what a man says, for he may often promise her the world, and he may even believe it at that moment, but what is more important, are his sustained actions. Men are action orientated.

Men express themselves mainly through their actions. If he loves a woman, he will solve her problems, he will gratify her needs and wishes, he will buy her things, he will fix her life, and he will work hard to provide for her. He will set out to make her happy.

Despite them being action orientated, when I ask men what is the most important element of a relationship, they do not unanimously answer: “Sex”. They do unanimously answer: “Communication.” Now this is interesting.

Does this mean the doers want to talk? Sometimes they do want to talk, especially if they trust a woman. And then the woman perpetually interrupts him, or she does not listen to him.

Listen

When a woman listens to a man when he tells her something, without interrupting him, he gets the message that he is important to her and that she is paying attention. If she interrupts, he feels unimportant. Sometimes it’s a good idea not to respond immediately.

He could rather think about what he said and come back a few days later with a suggestion or a response, instead of offering him immediate advice. To a man, immediate advice sounds as if she is disagreeing with him. “I have been thinking about what you discussed with me yesterday.

I wondered if … what do you think?” Just by adjusting her mode of communication, she circumvents sounding as
if she is criticising. Of course, she is entitled to a different opinion, as long as it does not make him sound stupid.

“Sometimes a good communicator is a person who just knows when to shut up,” said one man. Another man said: “It takes much courage for a man to open himself up. Don’t later use what he told you against him as a vicious backlash.”

Truly listening to someone does not imply merely keeping quiet when someone else is talking. It encompasses a cognitive effort to interpret the essence of the message the other person is communicating, seeing the message from that person’s perspective, attempting to understand that person’s underlying emotions and motivations, foreseeing how that person will act on the message and only once these cognitive actions have been completed can the listener then consider what is his/her response, emotions and the probable impact that the response will have on the other person. Listening is a complicated cognitive ACTION, not just a passive waiting for a breather to jump in.

 

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Case Study

A woman asked her husband why he doesn’t invite me as a motivational speaker at his company.

He answered: “We have already booked a speaker for this term.” “But you can always change it. I think it is a good idea to ask her,” she continued.

She repeated herself three times. Clearly, she did not hear him. He said No, three times.

She was embarrassing him by insisting. Also, she was telling him what to do at his place of work. (Then she wondered why he slammed the car door!) Some women tend to think if they just keep on repeating themselves, they may actually convince the men of their good idea.

Or she thinks if he does not immediately agree with her, he did not hear her in the first place. He heard her. He said No. Did she hear him?

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02Dec/16

Heroes – Forward

Heroes cover - A psychological insight into men’s perception on relationships

A psychological insight into men’s perception on relationships

Micki Pistorius

Author’s note: Whenever I testify as an expert witness psychologist in court, I always make a point of declaring: I am not here to condemn or condone the behaviour, but to explain the behaviour. The same principle applies to this book. I am not saying what men do is fair from a woman’s point of view. I am telling it as it is, as the men have related it to me.

Men and women think differently. Not only do men think differently about relationships than women, they think differently than women think men think. Think about that. I am also not writing this book to teach women how to catch men. If a woman tries to catch a man, she has already lost him. If women want to adapt their behaviour and get in touch with their own femininity, which may just happen to appeal to the heroes out there, then so be it. If women prefer to be pugnacious and hell-bent on cutting men down to size, it is their choice. Men don’t find it very appealing. If men read this book and feel the need to up their game and man-up: good, because the human race needs heroes.

Dedicated to Virtus.

© 2016 Micki Pistorius All Rights Reserved

02Dec/16

Heroes Index

Index

Action Heroes

Protectors And Warriors

Generous Heroes

Providers
Heroes On Their Quests
Heroes in Love
Virile Heroes

Rogues, Villains And Vixens

Pathological Relationships
Heroes Getting Hitched

The Anti-Hero

Break-Up And Divorce

The Seasoned Hero

Second Time Around

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04Jan/16

Author

FUTURE-TALK

Have you ever noticed in a brand new relationship how men are inclined to make future-talk?

“I can’t wait for you to meet my buddies, you will see,…”

“When we go on vacation together…”

“Next Christmas we will…”

“I can’t wait to take you in my Tiger Moth aeroplane…”

“I know about this rustic lodge I want to take you to see…”

“When we retire, we are going to open a guest house…”

“It would be great if we can synchronize our gym times in future …”

“Why don’t I just stock up your fridge with my favourite brand of beer, so I have a stock when I come to visit next time…”

“Come Summer, I will fix that broken fence for you…”

“Tell me which light fittings you prefer, you may be living here one day…”

Then, as they see more of each other and things get more intimate, he accuses her for having expectations and he leaves.

I will use the analogy of a man and a woman going grocery shopping to explain this topic. As they stroll along in the aisles, pushing the shopping cart, he takes a condiment from the shelf. “This is nice,” he says and places it in the cart. “This too,” he says and packs another item into the cart. “Let’s get this as well” he adds. So he fills the shopping cart to the brim with groceries they will be eating that night. His enthusiasm is contagious and she adds an item or two.

Eventually when they reach the check-out till and it is time for him to pay, he walks away leaving her with the stocked cart. She stands with a tear streaked face, holding a can of beans in her hand. “Remember when he picked this up and we fantasized about the baked beans breakfast,” she reminisces. “And this packet of spaghetti, he promised to teach me his grandmother’s recipe.”

Dear Woman, please do not regurgitate each “future-talk grocery item” he mentioned. Just leave the cart or push it over the hill and walk away. Don’t even try to pay the bill for someone else’s shopping cart. He is shopping with another woman already, anyway.

He did not verbalise a promise, but he infers a future together that he has no intention of honouring and then he still has the gall of accusing her of having expectations – who created those expectations?

I enquired from the men if they were aware that their future-talk created expectations, which they had no intention of keeping and the resounding answer was: “Yes, I did not do it intentionally to mislead her, but yes in all new relationships, I make future-talk.”

They explained that when they refer to future activities, at that moment they do actually foresee themselves with the girl, but as soon as she acts as if they are in a relationship, the men withdraw and feel trapped.

Perhaps men should take accountability for creating expectations, and perhaps women should take future-talk with a pinch of salt. His actions may prove more than his words.

Tell us what you think.