Thursday, January 3, 2008

High tension, low comfort: The self-esteem meltdown

Over the last few days, we've been talking about what happens when a woman is feeling comfortable with a man, but doesn't feel any gut-level tension or attraction.

Some readers ask - can the opposite problem happen? Can people run into problems when they create too much tension, but don't provide enough comfort?

Of course, they can.

First of all - tension can only go so far. You want her leave her wanting just a little more information about you. And leaving her wondering, just a little bit, about whether she's meeting your standards.

But, in one of the most common "High tension, low comfort" scenarios, people build that tension too high, and it stops being fun. It stops being playful or suspenseful. Women, in this state of tension, start to believe that you're hiding deal-breaking information, that you lack the confidence to state who you are, or feel like you carry standards that she can't handle.

Bottom line? She'll walk away very angry.

Don't get me wrong. If you have standards, she's not meeting them, and she's walking away angry... That's not such a bad thing.

But if it's happening a a lot, and it seems like it's unnecessary... it's time to raise the comfort and friendliness factors.

No comments: