Here’s how a man feels when he falls in love with a woman.
He feels happy.
His happiness flows naturally from the expectations of something wonderful in his future.
He feels more connected with the world, even when she’s not around.
His mind is compartmentalized, so he sometimes gets so engrossed in his work that he is literally surprised by the joyful emotions that erupt for a few seconds each time something reminds him of you during the course of his workday.
Related: 5 Things A Man Does When He Falls Deep In Love
If he continues down this road, the euphoria of love makes him start to adore everything about you. The edges of your lips, your neckline, the tone of your voice, everything about you starts to seem perfect and magical.
He begins to fantasize about kissing you before his boss snaps him out of it in the middle of a meeting.
This all sounds pretty close to what you would expect about what happens when a man falls in love, right?
Well, what happens next may seem a little odd. All those positive feelings build into a desire to become your lover. What that means to a man is very different than what it means to a woman.
In his quest to become your lover, a man’s feelings will shift toward a desire to impress you.
That sounds nice, right?
Well, it can be nice, or not, depending on how you respond to him.
You see, men have a soft spot underneath our hard and unemotional exterior.
We may act tough, stubborn, angry, or macho on the outside, but all of that actually serves a softer emotional need.
Men cannot thrive in a deep, passionate type of relationship unless they feel they have a woman’s admiration and respect.
If your man thinks you like him, but he feels you do not really admire him, the “in love” feelings will quickly fade and often extinguish completely like the wick of a candle that has been snuffed out.
If you snuff out the fire from the wick of a candle, it’s out. You can warm up to him all you want, but he will feel cold and only respond by blowing little wisps of smoke into your face from the extinguished flame.
Many, many women have felt this withdrawal. Some women have been through it more than once in their relationship or marriage.
Men desire admiration in an intense way that women would find hard to believe.
Related: What A Man Thinks About When He Really Likes You: 10 Secret Thoughts
Testosterone is, as you know, the male sex hormone. When it is active, he feels manly and alive. He feels happy.
Did you know a man’s testosterone is affected by the way people treat him?
It’s true. If you put a man in a position where he is treated like the low man on the totem pole, his testosterone will drop.
After a group of men is thrown together, there is a sorting-out period when a “pecking order” is established. No one talks about this social hierarchy. It just happens between men.
If you watched a videotape of interactions among men after about five days, you would be able to tell who was more of the alpha-male at the top end, and who the people were lower on the pecking order.
If you measured each man’s testosterone before and after grouping them together, those at the bottom would experience a drop in testosterone while those toward the top would experience an increase.
Why does this matter to you?
Because men will lose interest in anyone who accidentally tromps on their ego.
This means your relationship is affected every time he feels that you don’t respect him as much as he hopes you do.
…And there are all kinds of ways this happens without you meaning to do it!
This feeling of disrespect can come from something as simple as your tone of voice when you offer him an innocent compliment!
Don’t let this happen to you.
Written by James Bauer Originally appeared in Attract The One
