1. We are more sensitive than you realize. Men are not biologically designed to have the capacity of processing through feelings like women. Because of this men have a hard shell around their heart that keeps them from getting hurt. They only open up that shell WHEN IT FEELS SAFE. Not when a woman is demanding for them to “open up.” A man feels safe when he thinks a woman understands him. They don't have to agree with them (even though that is nice), but they need to convey that they have considered his opinion. What often happens is many women want a man to open up and when he begins talking, they take over. Soon the conversation is focused on the woman and the man simply quits talking. In his mind, “What's the point?” Remember ladies, you are probably better at communication than most men. Because of this most men don't want to feel they are competing with you to talk. Help them out by listening and in time they will seek you out more.
2. Men love to be complimented. Sincerely, however, not artificially. You can't, for instance, say "I love what you've done with your apartment" if it looks like a dorm room. Compliments are more believable if they are specific, intelligent, insightful, and show that you actually know what you're talking about. (We'll also be really impressed by how smart and knowledgable you are.) The best compliments either a) reaffirm the things we like about ourselves or b) make us feel better about our insecurities.
3. We lie to make you feel good, don’t be angry about it; you weren’t looking for the truth anyway.
4. If you us ask what is wrong and we say "nothing," it probably means that something is bothering us on an subconscious level that we aren't able to articulate. All we need from you is a little space while we work it out. Demanding that we talk about it is not helpful, and may even block our process. (See #1 above.) If we need to talk, we'll come to you when we're ready, IF we feel safe in doing so (see #1 above).
5. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but we don't know how to coax it out of you, and we suspect any clumsy attempt to do so might only upset you more. We're really hoping that you'll call your girlfriend, mother, or sister who can actually help you the way you want to be helped.
6. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That is what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
7. Express yourself. We are not mind readers and we never will be. Our lack of mind-reading ability is not proof of how little we care about you.
8. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
9. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. (Some of us like fat; your fatness may even be why we're attracted to you. But you don't want to know that, and we know it, so we're not going to tell you.)
9b. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as garage door openers, yard work, sports, or electronic gadgets.
10. Sometimes, he's not thinking about you. Live with it.
11. Don't ask us our sexual fantasies unless you're prepared to hear them. We're not fantasizing about playing the knight in shining armour coming to the rescue of the damsel in distress. That's your fantasy. The things we fantasize about would cause you to look at us differently, and not in a good way, and we know it. At best we're probably fantasizing about having a woman other than you (e.g., a supermodel or famous actress) or about having a threesome or an orgy. Other common fantasies include being dominated or humiliated, feet, watersports, double penetration, cuckolding, mature women, fat girls, "chick with dicks," and things you'd probably think are much, much worse.
12. Birthdays, Valentine's Day, and anniversaries are not quests to see if he can find the perfect present, again!
13. No, he doesn't know what day it is. He never will. Mark anniversaries on a calendar and remind him of important events in advance. (Better yet, get him a Palm Pilot or similar device and program important dates into it. He'll love it.) [Keep in mind that many of us have jobs centered around fulfilling obligations to others, which often requires us to keep track of dates and deadlines. Part of what we love about our free time is being able to relax and enjoy the moment, not thinking (stressing) about all the stuff on our "to do" list; thinking ahead about important dates and obligations is too much like work. That doesn't mean that we don't have to do it, but understanding and support goes a lot farther than nagging.]
14. If he forgets your birthday our anniversary, he knows how bad it is and he probably feels terrible about it. Really. The last thing he wants to do is hurt you. Yes, he needs to acknowledge his mistake, apologize for it, and make an effort to make it up to you, but once he does that, it's over. You need to forgive him and you can't use it as ammunition against him in the future. If you remind him of his mistake you'll only make him feel bad, he'll resent you for it, and it will poison the relationship.
15. Anything he said 6 or 8 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. Listen to what he's saying now.
16. If something he said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad and angry, he meant the other one.
17. Crying is blackmail. It's a form of emotional expression we've been conditioned our whole lives not to use, except for something really serious, like death (real death, not tearjerker movie death), and sometimes not even then. Hence, we don't understand it, can't relate to it, and don't know how to handle it. We'll do almost anything to get you to stop, including lying to you or promising to do something even if we think it's a bad idea. Use it if you must, but we don't like it and ultimately it's not good for the relationship.
18. If you want to change a man's mind, you'll make a lot more progress with a few good, solid reasons than with hours of animated emotion.
19. When you get angry over some stupid little pointless thing, we question your intelligence.
20. Never nag a man in front of his friends. It's a no-win situation for both of you.
21. When he screws up, go ahead and tell him–-but only once. Also, we do not think of it as consoling comfort to hear a woman gently say, "You see, honey? I told you so."
22. For many men, Sunday = Sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
23. Shopping is a chore, not an activity.
24. Anything you wear is fine. Really.
25. You have enough clothes.
26. You have too many shoes.
27. Most guys own two to three pairs of shoes--what makes you think he'd be any good at choosing which pair, out of thirty, would look good with your dress? He knows you won't like what he picks anyway and will wear something else, and if he actually make the right choice you'll probably start wondering if he's gay.
28. Ask for what you want. Subtle hints don't work, and we'll really appreciate you making our lives easier.
29. You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done, but not both.
30. Regularly check your oil, your coolant/antifreeze, and your tire pressure. Learn how to change a tire. Showing self-reliance and responsibility impresses us, and knowing that you can take care of yourself give us one less thing to worry about.
31. It is neither in your best interest nor ours to take the quiz together.
32. If you don't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.
33. Let him look at other women. He's going to do it anyway because he's biologically hard-wired for it. The less he feels he has to hide it from you, the more he'll appreciate you. Better yet, ogle women with him. He'll think your the coolest girlfriend ever, and it will really turn him on.
34. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
35. Women wearing push-up bras and low-cut blouses lose their right to complain about having their boobs stared at.
36. Consider our hobbies a mini-vacation from you. We need it, just like you do. We can't spend every moment with you. Get a life of your own. Get some girlfriends, join a book club, church group, or take some classes.
37. When we get home at the end of the day, we have no interest in telling you about our day. It was boring the first time and we have no desire to relive it. What we're really interested in is enjoying the rest of the day, with you. Besides, we know you're only asking as an opening to tell us about your day, so just go ahead and tell us already. Preferably quickly, because your day was boring, too.
38. Although we often suck as showing it, we love you, appreciate you, and need you more than you know. Please take care of yourself. We don't know what we'd do without you.
Here are my sources:
3 Things Men Wish Women Knew
http://www.joke-central.com/Women/Rules.htm
41 Rules Men Wish Women Knew - Goofball.com
What Guys Wish Women Knew
Things Men Wish Women Knew
10 things men wish women knew - Sisterspeak - Brief Article - Column | Ebony | Find Articles at BNET.com
Zooped.com - 50 Things Men Wished Women Knew
