I hold no illusions that asking for a marriage commitment will hold any more water than a strainer. There is nothing binding about it. But I think it will require a significant shift in her mental attitude that is needed just for her to utter those words. She must feel that she is taking a leap of faith, jumping into the abyss, even though we both know there is absolutely nothing to hold her to it. This is a huge bump in the road for us, and once we get over that bump, I see much smoother travels. I see this as truly a matter of having nothing to fear but fear itself. This is really her crucible.
I disagree that the “man o’ steel’ model will work. There is just not enough attractiveness in that model for her to climb over the bump. It is just too scary and her fears easily overpower any attractiveness that might arise from her hard wiring. In hindsight, there is nothing I can see in our history that would lead me to believe that model has any incentive for her at all. But used with other incentives and disincentives, it can play a role. The inertia against moving forward is huge.
