Where Are All The Good Men?

I asked myself this question over and over again when I was dating and trying desperately to find a man to marry. For years I was a magnet for men who weren’t good for me, men who were not the marrying kind. I couldn’t stop myself from dating them and getting involved in unfulfilling and unhealthy relationships. I felt like a victim, a walking target for men who were narcissistic, self-centered and cruel.



Then one day I had a wake-up call. I got involved with a particularly cold and aloof man. He acted charming when we were out socially, but when we alone he would become another person. I didn’t know there was this other side to him until it was too late. At first he acted like a gentlemen, he was very attentive to my needs and concerned about making me happy. But within a few months his real personality started to emerge, but by this time I was already "hooked in." I didn’t realize that his treatment of me had changed the way I thought about myself.  I got used to feeling unhappy and worthless around him.



He was sullen and uncommunicative, making it seem like his unhappiness was somehow my fault. I often got the silent treatment, and could not coax him out of his darkness. I was at a loss as I got sucked deeper and deeper into his dark world. A part of me knew that being in love is supposed to feel good, so I kept trying to make our relationship "work." But I couldn’t do it by myself, it takes two, so I’d end up being dragged into his bad moods and negativity and I’d lose myself.



Fortunately, I had a good woman friend who finally took me out to dinner and challenged me to look at my life. She pointed out how much I had changed over the past months, so much so that I had to admit it was true. This is what she observed about me:



•               I stopped being social

•               I had no time for my friends

•               I was always tense

•               I seemed perpetually distracted

•               I seemed sad



She reminded me that life was too short to be stuck in a miserable relationship with a cold and heartless man. This woke me up and after going through a lot of angst and self-doubt, I broke up with him. It was hard for me, but he didn’t seem to care that much -- more validation that I was doing the right thing.



Once again I felt the disappointment of another failed relationship. I was back at square one, as far away from getting married as ever. I had been dating the wrong men for years, and I again asked myself where were all the good men?



Then I had an ah-ha moment. There was only one common denominator through all these years of disappointing relationships…me!



My happily married friends found good men, why hadn’t I? I was going through life like a horse with blinders on. I was like an alcoholic who knows the location of every bar and liquor store in their neighborhood, but doesn’t have a clue where the bakeries are.



To help me find the good men, I decided to observe my friend’s husbands to learn about the kind of men I should be dating. Here are just a few qualities I discovered:



•               They were supportive and respectful

•               They were reliable and worked hard to take care of their families

•               They were openly affectionate and attentive



Where were all the good men? The good men had always been there, I just hadn’t been looking for them. I decided to take my "blinders off" and I make an effort to look for the men I would normally pass over. Now that I knew what to look for, I began to enjoy their company and want to be around them, even as friends. It was like the world had changed; where I had only seen the bad boys, I now saw good and decent men everywhere!



The wrong men didn’t disappear; they were still out there, showing up everywhere and tempting me to give them a chance. But I could now smile to myself remembering how I used to fall for their bad behavior. Thankfully, those days were gone, I had a choice and a great many good men around me to chose from.



If you can’t find the right men to date, do yourself a favor and take the time to take stock of yourself in the same way my good friend did with me.  You just may find that you have your own ‘a-ha moment’ – one that could lead you down a new and completely different relationship path.