Learning to Love THEIR Way

So I've been thinking... Most women go throughout their days thinking that the men they're dating should change. They should change the way they act, the way they live, the way they eat, and so on and so forth. I never thought I could be classified as one of those women until just recently. I may not be excessively particular about things I want to change in a guy, but after thinking long and hard about my past relationships, what needs to happen is both parties need to be more accepting about the other.

So this is what I'm proposing. Think of a word or two. Make it the word (or words) for the entire year. One of my words is going to be Acceptance. I have decided that in all aspects of my life, I need to be more accepting to what happens. The decisions I make are reflected through the consequences and I need to recognize that. Attempting a long term relationship with someone that doesn't necessarily fit my 'terms' of a perfect man doesn't give me any right to feel like I should change him. Compromise is a must in relationships but forcible change is the opposite. It's unwelcome, it's disrespectful, and it's toxic in any emotional bond between two people.

I've always been adamant about never reprimanding a boyfriend about leaving the seat up. Who am I to be the judge on whether a seat is up or down? What gives me the right to tell them what to do when it comes to something so trivial? Same goes for other areas of the relationship. What right do I have to force someone to cuddle more, or be more publicly affectionate? All relationships have their ups and downs, but choosing something as frivolous as cuddling to pick a fight is asking for trouble. Same goes with children. Why do parents find it necessary to fight with their child about something as silly as, say, wearing pajamas to the grocery store? Let them! Choose your battles wisely! Because every parent knows that at the end of the day, does it really matter what they wore?

Back to relationships, choose your battles wisely as well. Have an accepting heart. Don't have a shit fit because your boyfriend/husband didn't cuddle with you before he got up for work, or that he didn't kiss you when he got home. These things don't matter. My second word is going to be Gratitude. Combining these two words is my goal. I need to accept that not everything is going to go exactly how I want them to go, and I need to be grateful for the things that I do receive. So when you start feeling anger well up because he doesn't do something your way, be grateful that he's in your life and that you share that intimate bond with each other. These are the things that matter. Not throwing a hissy fit because it doesn't go your way.

I have never understood why women always assumed it's the men that need to change. For the most part, men are easygoing, laid back, not too emotional, and disturbingly honest. In all honesty, I think it would be refreshing if more women were like that. Less drama, less inane competition, less pettiness and erratic behaviour. These are the things that give us our name: Crazy
Has anyone ever actually considered this? Why do men say women are crazy? (And yes, I know not all women are crazy, I'm just speaking of the ones that are.) Women are labeled as crazy because they wear their hearts on their sleeves, they make decisions based off of their emotions, and they read into every little thing their significant other says or does. I am putting a stop to this in my own relationship. It's clearly not working and it's putting a damper on my relationship as well as my friendships with females. Maybe it's not the men that need to change. Maybe it's us...