More and more I am surrounded by women over 35 years of age who want to get married, but cannot find a suitable partner. They have heard the best places to go for singles over 35, have been set up on numerous blind dates, have joined online dating, and still don’t have a ring on their finger. These women are educated, have a great job, great homes, gorgeous, and would make the perfect wife. What’s wrong? When I talk with these women, many think the problem may rest with the guys. Guys in their age range want younger, less established women, or cougars who are self-made and don’t need the guy’s financial backing, or his ability to procreate in order to share a life together. But if I take a bit longer and talk more in depth with these women, then I begin to see that it may not be the men at all. It may in fact be the way these women are feeling toward themselves or what they are projecting outward that is limiting their ability to find a suitable partner for marriage.
Many of us don’t understand that how we feel inside really does project on the outside. If you feel cynical, judgmental or unhappy, no matter how much your latest haircut, manicurist, trainer, or diet fad costs, your looks will reflect how you feel. If you have been let down by men beginning with your dad when you were six, or by your boyfriend who got stolen from you when you were 17 years old, and you never resolved it, then you will attract a man who gets stolen from you or abandons you time after time. When a man becomes interested in you, they take a look at you and already know their destiny. There are things you have to look at within yourself whenever you are seeking something or someone. These thoughts/tapes are often the reason most women over 35 who want to get married are not.
1. Life has taught you to be critical. Men are emotional beings just as women are. They enjoy sex, but they want to build a life with women who are kind and loving. There is a saying that “every man loves a bitch.” This is misinterpreted by many women. Men like a confident woman who is capable of loving herself and others. Men do not like mean women. If a man is drawn to a mean woman, it says more about his family of origin than it does about the woman. Be careful…do you want to be with a man who likes mean women? Really?
2. Your standard of measurement is askew. Often, women who want to marry but aren’t married are still looking for someone cute. Sexual attraction is important, but in regards to a husband, what are most important are honesty and character. One study referenced in my blog reported that the healthiest marriages were those where the woman was the looker, not the guy. If you have a particular “cute level” they must achieve, you need to look in the mirror again with your makeup washed off, because this is the way your husband will see you each morning.
3. Being honest with yourself is not valued. The majority of single women over 35 who want to be married are in relationships with people that they don’t really love or see a future with. They lie to these guys and tell them such things as, “Yeah, its okay if we don’t get married.” They move in with him and begin a life, many times committing years of their lives to a man who is never going to commit to them because they are afraid if they tell him the truth he will leave. If you want to get married, make it known, be authentic up front, and don’t settle for someone who is still trying to flirt with everything he sees.
4. You don’t like yourself. Women who are single and over a certain age become very self-focused. They begin to see all of their flaws (especially with looks); the world becomes totally centered on them. The more this happens, the more they repel others. Soon, they find themselves alone and begin to think they don’t deserve anyone. When a man is looking for a wife, any vibes of self hate come through loud and clear. Somehow they get it, that you cannot possibly love them any more than you can love yourself. If you disgust you, how can you possibly love them?
The only reason to get married is because you have decided that this person brings out the very best in you and you in them. The thought of not sharing your life with them is worse than the thought of losing everything else in your life. It takes that kind of commitment from both of you. Marriage is a lifestyle; the vows are sacred. Prepare yourself to be a good partner instead of focusing on how messed up single guys/women are over 35 years of age.
Written by Mary Jo Rapini
Mary Jo Rapini, MEd, LPC,is a counselor,contributing expert for Cosmopolitan magazine, People magazine, Women’s Health, First, New York Daily News, Seventeen, Redbook, People, and Self Magazine's “Love and Relationship” section. Mary Jo is a “City Bright” writer for the Houston Chronicle, and is a contributing columnist to HealthNewsDigest.com.Her goal is to help women gain the freedom to be all they can be, by empowering them and the men who love them. Women need a strong support system that provides her with reinforcement, and encourages her to be brave enough to make individual strides and be her own person.
No comments:
Post a Comment