The Difference Between Attraction And Relationship Skills
There is an interesting phenomena my attention has been drawn to recently. It’s noticeable when a man has little problem attracting a desirable woman, yet witnesses a barrage of challenges in keeping her interested and happy. This can be devastating and (not to mention) baffling.
It doesn’t make sense, unless one becomes aware of the difference between triggering attraction and developing a relationship.
I’m drawn back to a memory of reading David Deangelo’s “Double Your Dating” which exposed me to a myriad of theories and skills to attract a woman. Yet, all he teaches about “keeping” a woman interested is boiled down to one line. That being, “once you get a woman, keep doing whatever you are doing.” And it’s not nearly as helpful or truthful as one might first think.
If this was the truth then pick up artists or men who learn about seducing and attracting women, would all have a great relationship with a woman they truly desired. Instead, they end up dodging from woman to woman, temporarily trying to satisfy an insatiable need. You could call it skimming the surface as these men are cautious and want to pull the plug before it gets too deep. Anything deeper will only open a whole can of worms, which for the moment do not want to be uncovered.
Therefore, it’s better to focus on the next woman, as she will be dazzled by her attraction for him.
That is, until she gets to know him better. That’s what he is terrified of the most. The worst part, is that he can’t admit this to himself. So, he’ll run, he’ll get angry, or he’ll absorb himself in mindless sex. But all of this resembles the analogy of being hungry and using junk food to rid the hunger; a hunger only a good home cooked meal could satisfy. So, there are two things that I want to share with you.
The first is that some pickup artists actually have NO INTENTION of finding one good woman.
Eventually, they will but many feel the urge to rebuild their self esteem and ego first. This, may be due to it being severely damaged in the past.
Therefore, the woman he is with now is repaying the debts of all the” other” women who really shattered his self esteem.
I get it and I understand that it is all a process.
The second category is for men who simply don’t have to skill set to attract women. Maybe there wasn’t a strong male figure who they could really model. Maybe no one taught them to: cultivate their own assertiveness, develop into being a man, or give them those gems about women that only a lifetime of experience could teach.
The first step in any kind of personal growth experience is the awareness in one’s ability to change. A mixture of self responsibility, courage, and the willingness to learn are all components required in creating a life that “designed” with purpose. Each and every man has his own timing to come to this conclusion. Some of you reading this post are already here, others are not. I write for both of you. For the men that have reached this awareness. And for the men who are not ready yet, I look to provide a beacon of hope which will guide you back here when timing permits.
Quickly Gaining Trust vs. Deepening Trust
When you first interact with a woman, you must act and behave in certain ways which quickly gain rapport and trust, from: asking her questions, touching her at the right times and places, or communicating that you in fact are a real person (not some guy just trying to pick her up at a club). The ways to develop rapport are lengthy and endless. Let’s not forget that it actually does work!
When, you start building a relationship with a woman she’ll want to experience depth with you. She’ll want to know all the different sides to you. Additionally, she’ll want to know that she can trust you when: things get tough, you want to zone out, or you are under pressure. She could do this in a positive or a negative way. For example, you could notice an increase in her curiosity about your personal life and investigate how you respond to certain situations in the past. Alternatively, she could pick a fight with you and see how you respond. One is more passive and the other more active. She may even do both to see if how you respond in the past (what you told her) correlates with how you responded with her in the present moment. She’ll expect the truth from you and she’ll be looking for congruence in what you tell her with how you act. Additionally, she wants to see this in EVERY AREA of your life. This is of course VERY easy to do, if you have developed your life into an authentic and real experience. Problems occur when you past projections of yourself are not congruent with your current projections of yourself.
The more congruence she can see in your words and actions throughout the different dating stages, the more it will allow her to be more: open, receptive, appreciative, feminine, and authentic with you.
Furthermore, the more she feels like she can reveal all aspects of herself to you, the more she will trust you. So, when you start seeing your woman acting a little moody or not so much herself, this is an opportunity for you to step up and show her that you CAN HANDLE all the different aspects of her. The good and the bad.
No one wants to be liked or loved only when they are on good behavior. As human beings, we have the innate need to be loved “unconditionally”.
Therefore, she will test to see if you can still love and appreciate her, even though she is not herself or upset about something. If you can: step up, empathize with her, change her state, and show her that you still accept her. Then she will feel: an innate sense of security, love, and trust with you. All of this will cause her to feel a deepening and progressing of the relationship. If you find this hard, then also put yourself in her shoes. When you make a mistake, get angry, or stressed wouldn’t be an amazing experience, if your partner could still love and accept you through it all? Wouldn’t be great if she didn’t hold it against you? Wouldn’t be amazing if she actually thought it was amusing and got you to laugh at yourself too? Wouldn’t that be a moment where you could bond and deepen the relationship? Yes, that is what it is about, taking challenges and using them as opportunities to build trust, love, and acceptance between the two of you.
Competition vs. Teamwork
When you first meet a woman there is an underlying battle of the sexes going on. Will she bow to your leadership or overpower you? Will you reveal your assertiveness and stand strong, despite her efforts? Who is the one that is going to give in first? Who is the one that is going to win? That’s why they call it “the game”, because there are all these little nuances which tally up to the final scoreboard.
So, what happens when you have earned your win? Does the competition still continue? Do you find new and better things to compete with? Well, a little playful competition with each other can help to increase variety and fun in the relationship. But, predominately there must be a shift from the “I win, you lose” mentality to “how can we both win?” A shift between “you and I” to “team”. I hate to state the obvious, but you have to realise that the person you are in a relationship with is not your enemy. They are your friend. And you are both in the same boat. Furthermore, the boat gets destroyed when you are trying to bomb your own ship.
Bombing your own ship involves hurting your partner by: ignoring them, giving them the silent treatment, getting angry at them, and deluding yourself into thinking that you are not hurting yourself and the relationship in the process.
This doesn’t mean that you are two separate people molding into one, far from it. You must be able to: retain, nurture, and cultivate yourself in this process.
A relationship is always two “complete” and “whole” individuals coming together to create their own “private universe”. One which no one else understands except the two of you.
Equally, this private universe must be treated with the uttermost respect. This means that you have the best intentions for yourself and the best intentions for the relationship you are developing. This involves supporting and exploring, rather than attacking one another. Nurturing this private universe involves: emptying the negative, building on the positive, identify and meeting each other’s needs, accepting one another and providing a safe sanctuary in which both of you can come to play and rest. Therefore, the only way to align the both of these is proper communication. Now there are plenty of ways which you can do this, but this must all be based on the correct underlying assumptions. You don’t learn proper communication, for the reason of finding more effective ways to win against your partner.
You learn these methods BECAUSE you understand: you have needs, your partner has needs, and the relationship has needs. Proper communication is the bridge between all of these.
As you can see, developing attraction and building a relationship are two very different things. Attraction is about: gaining trust quickly, asserting yourself, taking the lead, and winning.
There is a difference between applying attraction triggers and being a man that draws this out with his presence. There is a difference between understanding a woman on a high school degree level and knowing her on a PHD level.
A relationship is something that: grows, takes on its own life, and propels you into personal and spiritual development. It is always a vehicle, which will reveal more to yourself than any other area in your life. It will uncover your deepest fears and with your permission free them all from you.
Hot Alpha Female



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Hehe “the first” is what I tried to tell you about PUA’s waaay back when you were associating them in a synonymous way with personal development. There is *some* of that in the journey but I would argue just how much of it is actually in a good way lol. Yes these are really two different games, or phases if you will.
For me I guess the personal development is coming back full circle and understanding the value of a ‘good woman’ and how rare they are. But still, the game is just a game and it can be fun to play
I’ve always said that a man who is great at attracting women is by definition one who is no good at keeping them.
I can’t decide who is in a better situation, the man who has the skills to attract women but never forms a meaningful connection with one, or the man who has the maturity and the skillset to build a wonderful relationship with a woman but doesn’t because to women he is invisible.
@Rich good call
… I am curious… or is it the man who can “attract intimate Relationships” into his life, who has the taste of both worlds?
Rock n roll
I think all women want a man who has both sets of skills, which is the guy you describe, but unfortunately these are rare. This is because becoming adept at one usually works to the detriment or at least atrophy of the other.
My take on it anyway.
@fathamburger: Yes, I must admit I have to agree with you on this one. Not all pickup artists go in with the best intentions, but if they stick out with it long enough, personal development and growth is inevitable. I’m so glad that you are set on a good woman. The only thing you do is develop into the man that a good woman would be attracted to and where that attraction would be maintained. Remember you only need to find one =P
@Rich: This is a really interesting comment. Mainly because I discuss the exact missing link in my latest video. Basically the first man that you describe is a man who has the skill set, but does not have the self esteem and maturity to build a solid and fulfilling relationship. And the second man that you describe has the self esteem but doesn’t have an understanding of the psychology of women, what drives them, what triggers attraction with them, and what they really need. Therefore if a man focuses on developing his self esteem, setting positive expectations on himself, women and relationships and looks at truly understanding the underlying needs of a woman, he can really have it all. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
@Romyl: If a man has the self esteem and the understanding of women, it is easy for him to attract an intimate relationship into his life. He is also able to filter out women who are unsuitable for him quickly and efficiently and he will more likely be drawn to women and women will be drawn to him, that match his level equally.
Great discussion points guys =)
Hot Alpha Female
Now that is an interesting perspective that I’d not considered before. The idea that men who are attracting women have low self-esteem because they are unable to hold onto them. I always assumed it was a case of just the guy getting bored and moving on.
I would have said it would be the other way around. That the men who can attract women effortlessly are the ones who have high self esteem, and what’s more they know they have options. These are the guys who take a woman’s attention for granted and yet women chase after them endlessly and agonise over them. A cynical view of the guy able to build a relationship but unable to attract women is that constant rejection by women will mean such low self esteem that when someone comes along that he does click with he will take it very seriously because who knows how long it will be, if at all, before the next one comes along.
@Rich: Well the question to ask about the first guy, is why does he get bored so quickly? Is it that no one meets him on his level? Or is it that he likes all the beginning stages of a developing relaitonship and doesn’t want to really truly open up?
If a man has high self esteem it is actually easier for him to have a happier and fulfilling relaitonship with a woman, provided he picks a woman who meets him on that level. It will be easier to cultivate proper communication, support, and trust. Learning the psychology of women will also help deepen and develop the relationship because he will understand how he can truly win and contribute to this woman.
The second man that you are describing would then not have any of the winning combination that is needed to create and maintain attraction with a woman. If a man doesn’t have the self esteem or an understanding of women’s psychology then it can be significantly harder for him to create a relationship.
Part of being able to build a relationship means a certain level of self esteem. So I ask you, what makes this man who is unable to attract women, so ideal for building a relationship?
Hot Alpha Female
@hotalphafemale – in response to post 6.
yes, just like breathing.
surfs up ;1
The irony is that the better a man is at attracting girls, the better he will be at cheating and abusing (emotionally) women.
I’m NOT saying that a man will do that or being able to attract girls changes an honest man to a player.
But, the easiest thing girls can do to avoid a cheating man is to date a boring nice guy as he’s probably not very good at attracting women. I’ve studied a lot of economics in college and one important insight is that people make decisions based on marginal benefits and costs. If it takes a great deal of effort to attract a girl, then it might not be worth a nice guy’s time to cheat. However, PUAs can supposedly get several girls within minutes of entering a bar. If a guy’s that good, then the question becomes why wouldn’t he cheat? Dating a nice guy is probably less fun but also less risky.
I agree with the theme of your blog. My dad’s a great husband and father but I doubt he’d be very good at attracting women. Maybe that’s the best combination, a good guy who can’t cheat. You’ll probably ask why my mom picked him? “Dating” in China during the ’80s is not so much about having fun as it is about picking the right partner for the rest of a person’s life. I guess people made more rational choices back then.
@Phillip
I agree, you can choose relationships either to be comfortable or … to evolve, the later is more rewardingly fun, aint it?
time to put on those dancing shoes
@Phillip: You raise some really interesting questions here. I don’t necessarily think that a man who is great at attracting women will be more likely to cheat. I think this depends on timing and whether or not he is looking for something more meaningful or is ready to settle down.
I have heard a lot of successful PUA’s get sick of dating multiple women at one time, especially because it just becomes too much effort. I think there comes a time in a man’s life where he is looking for something deeper and more meaningful with one woman.
Sometimes he has to go through a lot of different women to find one that he really wants to build a life with and completely open up to. All in his own time I say. You can’t force a guy to settle when he isn’t ready to settle. It’s not right or wrong, it’s just how it is.
I think it’s just as hard for a woman to date a nice and boring guy as it is to date a guy who is a serial cheater. Both men are not fulfilling what a woman really desires which is combination of strength, assertive, compassion, empathy and understanding. A truly strong and independent man, is the combination of all of these.
The jerk guy is assertive and strong, yet he lacks integrity. The nice guy has integrity, compassion and empathy but lacks that assertiveness and strength. A woman needs to feel the combination of both: the strength and the compassion to make her feel completely safe. As a man, if there is anything that you need to understand about a woman it’s her desire to want to feel safe and protected.
When you can do this for her … she will open up to you in ways you could not have even imagined. And she will make you feel more appreciated and more of a man than you ever have before.
@Romyl: I absolutely agree. The expectations that you bring to a relationship will determine the type of relationship that you will involve yourself in and where it will go in the future. With that said I’m going for the second option! Evolving and growing a relationship seems a lot more fun and fulfilling.
Hot Alpha Female
@hotalphafemale:
;|
yeah… you better dig the second option, bud
;1
time for a Glass of milk + nibble on a briefly microwaved Subway white choc cookie mmm
I think I agree with Phillip, that the guy who doesn’t have the skills to go and attract more women easily has much more of a vested interest in working on the relationship because it is inherently more valuable to him. Cynical but very true.
Let me tell you something about “nice guys”, or some of them at least. I speak from experience of who I was before my first girlfriend. A lot of these guys are exciting, funny, adventurous and playful people who just happen to be locked into an unhappy downward spiral when it comes to women. It just takes one woman to come along and unlock their potential, but of course the “nice guy” stereotype is all pervasive and keeps these guys from escaping.
@Rich: You make a valid point. I would also add that it at times it comes down to that particular female. Where she is at, what her basic views on life are, how emotionally mature she is. Whether she is going to stereotype a guy into the NICE GUY category. Men has a much smaller chance of falling into this category is they are assertive and set their own boundaries from the start. She will more likely respond to that leadership and want to experience more of it. Many simply nice guys don’t have that assertiveness. They find it difficult to say NO. This is something they need to work on so that woman are more likely to give them a chance. It’s harsh, but it’s also true.
Also it is becoming increasing important in the type of partner that a man chooses. Particularly if he has done quite a lot of personal development. Creating a relationship with a woman who is emotionally immature, superficial or has excess baggage is not necessarily going to go him or her any favors. I think a lot of men could avoid pitfalls if they understood exactly what to look for in a woman. Maybe I’ll write a post about it soon =)
Hot Alpha Female
Hot Alpha Female » Blog Archive » The Difference Between ……
[...]Hot Alpha Female » Blog Archive » The Difference Between Attraction And Relationship Skills hotalphafemale.com/2011/01/the-difference-between-attraction-and-relationship-skills.html – view page – cached Brutally Honest Dating Advice … [. ….
This is a very interesting and great article.
Who did you quote in the paragraphs that you quoted? Was it David Deangelo? I never really hear him speak about this.
OA
Pretty good! I like it! I need to work on deepening trust by for one thing being not so confused and able to put my thoughts together to make better decisions and to articulate better, I think. Right now the way I speak starts out ok but then later comes out “duh” with women I’m attracted to once I realize I’m attracted to them. This one gal I think is no longer interested in me for this reason. Still this is eye opening in the sense that there are at least two phases in the relationship process which are 1) attraction and 2) keeping her. Thanks for the article!
Hot Alpha Female,
You really called it with this one. Especially how guys run or hide and are really afraid of being know.
A breath of truthful fresh air. Thanks.