The Chronicles

7 Relationship Mistakes That Men Make

“I was so close.”

That’s what you kept telling yourself as you attempted to once again pick up the pieces following another failed relationship. But can you really be blamed for having those thoughts? After all, it wasn’t that long ago when you were so sure you had finally found “the one.”

Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be; and now you’re sitting at home, watching “Laverne & Shirley” reruns on Nick at Nite, wondering where it all went wrong.

“It was all her fault,” you tried to tell yourself. But deep down, you knew the truth. You blew it again.
But look on the bright side. If you could somehow manage to avoid the 7 Relationship Mistakes That Men Make; then maybe things will have a much better outcome the next time around.

1. You start slacking off.

When you first started dating, she would brag nonstop to her friends about how romantic, caring, and thoughtful you were. But now when her friends ask about the relationship, she simply rolls her eyes, and says, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Let’s face it; you used to be the cream of the crop and a proud member of the “good boyfriend club.” But not anymore, as you’ve become about as lazy as Kimora Lee Simmons’ personal trainer. (I mean seriously …she deserves a refund.)

2. You get too serious, too fast.

Whoa …Whoa…Whoa. I know you’re excited about your new relationship, but you can’t start having “marriage, kids, and soul mate” talk — on DAY 2!!! Moving too fast often leads to getting tossed aside faster than an empty Lindsay Lohan shot glass.

3. You live in the past.

The two of you have settled into a pretty nice relationship. There’s just one problem though: you keep bringing up the past, using it as ammunition to fire off reasons why the relationship won’t work.

“My last girlfriend cheated on me.”

“You’ve broken hearts in the past. How do I really know that you’ve changed?”

And on and on it goes. In fact, I haven’t heard this much whining since my aunt bought Keith Sweat’s “Greatest Hits” album.

4. You don’t show her enough attention.

Here’s a bit of advice: stop trying to play things so cool. A huge mistake would be for you to casually overlook the fact that your woman needs to be shown some attention. Look at it this way; if you fail to make her feel special, then she will have no choice but to fill that void elsewhere — which will probably hurt your feelings when she leaves you for her “best friend” — or even worse, some Hollywood heartthrob like Will Smith, Brad Pitt … or Morgan Freeman (Hell, I don’t know who women find sexy these days.)

5. You smother her.

On the flipside, some guys can show too much attention by trying to spend EVERY SINGLE MINUTE with their woman. And even when they aren’t with her, they call nonstop, and send at least one email a day professing how wonderful and perfect she is. While she may initially be flattered, no one wants to be suffocated by love. Being smothered in a relationship can be about as draining as trying to silence your outspoken ex-President husband. (Is that still a touchy subject?)

6. You let her take the lead.

While no woman wants to be told what to do, she also doesn’t want a man with no backbone (I can think of a few prominent examples to insert here, but I’ll respectfully decline.) Step up and be a man that’s confident in who you are and what you want out of life. If you don’t, and allow her to totally run the show, then she will never respect you, and ultimately move on to a man that she can respect.

7. You start going nowhere fast.

While your woman doesn’t want you to move too fast, she also doesn’t want the relationship to remain in neutral. If she looks up after a year, and feels like no forward progress is being made, then she’s not going to be happy. Not making any effort towards the development of something meaningful is an even bigger mistake than the time I let Wesley Snipes refer me to his tax accountant.

The Fly Conclusion: Now that I’ve shared with you the common relationship mistakes made by men, a choice must be made. Will you continue to fumble the ball at the goal line, ultimately blowing a shot at true relational happiness? Or will keep your eyes open, thereby avoiding those pitfalls? The choice is yours.

And now it’s time for me to hear from the men. Have you ever been guilty of these relationship mistakes? If so, did you eventually learn your lesson?

What about the women? Have you ever been forced to kick a guy to the curb for being in violation of any of these mistakes? The floor is officially yours.