Four Ways to Show Him You Love Him Without Scaring Him Off
Every teenage girl has heard the advice about never telling a man you love him before he tells you.
Otherwise we'll overwhelm him with our display of emotion and scare the poor guy away.
While that's obviously not true in every case, the fact is there are more effective ways to express your love than just blurting it out.
These non-verbal behaviors do double-duty, too.
They show your boyfriend you truly care about him and they make him fall even more deeply in love with you.
Accept him It's critical to accept the man you love the way his is.
If there's something you want to change about him, that feeling will come out in hen-pecking behavior that will drive him away.
So, forget about trying to "improve" him.
You don't have to love everything about him (we all have flaws), but do realize that you're not going to change him.
If he has a beer-gut, he's stubborn, or he has a severe aversion to fancy restaurants, that's just part of the package.
Love him or leave him.
Respect him Broadly speaking, respect is to men what love is to women.
It's that important.
When you try to do things for him or constantly second-guess his decisions, you may think you're trying to help, but he's liable to feel belittled and disrespected.
As much as possible, try not to interfere with decisions that should be his alone, whether it's how to get ahead at work or how to set up his stereo set.
With mutual decisions, there's no need to be a push-over, but present your case respectfully.
Trust him This one can be hard, especially if you've been lied to or cheated on before.
But trust is essential if the relationship is to last.
A lack of trust leads to clingy, attraction-killing behavior that can drive a man up the wall and eventually out the door.
So, give him space to be by himself sometimes and to keep up with his friends and hobbies without you tagging along.
Try to avoid implying that he might be less than trust-worthy and definitely don't accuse him of anything unless you have very good evidence.
Be Affectionate And not just in bed.
Casual affectionate touching shows both your emotional love and physical attraction for him.
Hug him, give him a quick kiss on the cheek (or lips), squeeze his hand, or rub his shoulders.
Tease a little, too.
Try a tummy tickle or a playful bump with your hips now and then.
Otherwise we'll overwhelm him with our display of emotion and scare the poor guy away.
While that's obviously not true in every case, the fact is there are more effective ways to express your love than just blurting it out.
These non-verbal behaviors do double-duty, too.
They show your boyfriend you truly care about him and they make him fall even more deeply in love with you.
Accept him It's critical to accept the man you love the way his is.
If there's something you want to change about him, that feeling will come out in hen-pecking behavior that will drive him away.
So, forget about trying to "improve" him.
You don't have to love everything about him (we all have flaws), but do realize that you're not going to change him.
If he has a beer-gut, he's stubborn, or he has a severe aversion to fancy restaurants, that's just part of the package.
Love him or leave him.
Respect him Broadly speaking, respect is to men what love is to women.
It's that important.
When you try to do things for him or constantly second-guess his decisions, you may think you're trying to help, but he's liable to feel belittled and disrespected.
As much as possible, try not to interfere with decisions that should be his alone, whether it's how to get ahead at work or how to set up his stereo set.
With mutual decisions, there's no need to be a push-over, but present your case respectfully.
Trust him This one can be hard, especially if you've been lied to or cheated on before.
But trust is essential if the relationship is to last.
A lack of trust leads to clingy, attraction-killing behavior that can drive a man up the wall and eventually out the door.
So, give him space to be by himself sometimes and to keep up with his friends and hobbies without you tagging along.
Try to avoid implying that he might be less than trust-worthy and definitely don't accuse him of anything unless you have very good evidence.
Be Affectionate And not just in bed.
Casual affectionate touching shows both your emotional love and physical attraction for him.
Hug him, give him a quick kiss on the cheek (or lips), squeeze his hand, or rub his shoulders.
Tease a little, too.
Try a tummy tickle or a playful bump with your hips now and then.
