Another great post from robx on another thread that I wanted on mine so that I could find it quickly when I am feeling down and unsure. It really rang true with me!
Originally Posted By: robx
Of course she didn't seem surprised, she put on the fake face, just like you were when you were going through the script, remember? Be awesome, act as if life is great, super, be happy, upbeat. Even though on the inside you don't want any of this to happen, you still did it, you act as if this was the best thing to do and guess what, no argument. She didn't argue with you, she agreed with you because you agreed with her. Did you see that, you were agreeing with her feelings, she had nothing to fight against, how could she, you agreed with her. If you had argued and said "stop this nonsense and come home and lets work on this!", she would have argued, you would have been against her feelings.
Agree with them. They're following their feelings, even if their feelings are wrong, just agree with them, even if you have to bite down hard on your tongue and leave a permanent wound, LOL just agree with them.
"Hey husband, I'm flying to the moon, I made these wings, what do you think about my plan? I think it will work"
"Hey wife, I agree with you, you should try it out!"
Totally stupid right? But think about it. If you had replied back that's a dumb horrible idea, you would not be agreeing with them, you would be against them and more importantly against their feelings and we know that her emotions are running the show, not logic. So how do you get back with this person? You agree with them, "this is all for the best, I agree with you wife, I want you to be happy, and I'm helping you move on and you know what I'll be happy too, no hard feelings, k?"
She can't argue with you, you've agreed with her, you only argue with people that don't agree with you.
So getting back to appearances, you put on the happy face when you talked to her and she did the same thing. You didn't expect her to come running back to you right then & there, that's not realistic, I told you before, follow reality, reality doesn't lie, she wants to go, agree with her, "you're right, you should go." She expects an argument, she expects you to disagree but you didn't do either of these things and guess what? You threw her off balance. This is too easy, I expected a struggle, I expected an argument and he's ok with this, I don't understand? Why isn't he crying and depressed and sad and angry? Why is he happy? Why is he agreeing with me? He never agreed before? I don't get it, I was expecting that he would fight with me and argue with me to stay.
She put on her game face too but not as successful as you I would gather considering you think she was on the verge of tears.
As for your gut.... I agree that she is still seeing the OM and yeah she's in a fog. Don't assume permanently, nothing is permanent, you thought you would be married forever, and now you're not so sure anymore, neither is she. If the OM didn't work out and I would probably assume that option more, it's a good thing. Her feelings are hurt, you are moving on, she is now thinking in her head, "have I made a mistake?", let her deal with those thoughts, don't help her with them, its good for her to question her ideas and feelings, she thought this was going to be a ride in the park and now it's not. You're moving on, you're changing the house around, getting ready for the single life, you packed her things, offered to help her load them into a truck and this is going very fast, too fast in her mind.
Let her deal with her thoughts. No pursuing. No phone calls, texts, emails, etc. You can reply but when you reply, take your time, you don't need to rush and reply back the very minute she contacts you. Let the call go to voicemail, reply back in an hour. Let the email sit in the inbox, reply back in an hour or two. Let the text sit on your phone, reply back 30-60 min. later, "sorry I was busy, out with a friend, didn't have time to reply back, what's up?"
All of this gives her the impression that you're moving on, you've accepted this, you don't want this anymore either, what you had wasn't that great, you have high standards, if she isn't going to love you and make a relationship easier than it isn't worth your time anymore. If she cares, she'll show it, she'll pursue you, in fact she has to pursue you, if you pursue her, she'll just run away, she needs to pursue you, she needs to feel like she has to chase you, if there is no effort on her part, it won't be worth it to her.
You could improve yourself to be the "coolest guy" in town but that's not for her, you're doing that for you. Part of you getting ready for casual social interactions with other women (ie. dating).
Don't assume what she thinks in her head, you don't have a clue, and playing that game will leave you exhausted and wrong every time. Let her deal with her ideas and thoughts, you deal with living a great life.
You feelin' me bro?
So far so good, keep up the good work!
This makes so much sense and I hope I can stick to what I'm doing!
Thanks robx!
Me48 WAW46 M24 yrs S24 D21 D19 EA disc 6/09 2nd EA Fall 09 I move out 11/12/09 W and I switch 1/14/10 D Filed 3/17/10 W moves in with OM 6/8/10 D Final 6/21/10