The Unbreakable Man Laws

Possibly one of the most important concepts that I walked out of Tydings Hall of the University of Maryland with was the understanding of “Opportunity Cost”. Little did I know at the time, “Opportunity Cost” could be applied to many situations outside of ECON200. I can wager that the original Economic theorist that thought of “Opportunity Cost” had nothing to do with any monetary relationship. The gentlemen was most likely a successful young player and waking up next to a beautiful young women one morning, before walking to teach his class at Yale thought to himself “Why give the life of bachelorhood up, when there is so much out there?”

Thus, “Opportunity Cost” was born.

Most women love to list all the "benefits" of a relationship. Proceed with Caution when listening to female propaganda Gentlemen. This has seduced many powerful men in the past.

Although most people reading this blog are probably familiar with this concept already, “Opportunity Cost” is what you give up in order to pursue what is in your best interest. For instance, if you take a year off of working to pursue Graduate School, not only would your cost be tuition, room and board, and whatever additional expenses associated with the University, your Opportunity Cost would be the salary you WOULD have made while you took that year off. When making this decision, you decided that the cost of Graduate School plus the year of salary lost by attending, would pay off afterwards as your financial value would be noticeably greater.

So think about that for a second – In order for you to pursue a relationship with one woman, you are subsequently giving up the opportunity to pursue however many woman MIGHT have crossed your path in that year (or more). To make matters worse, not only has your value increased to many single women while you are no longer available (That which you can not have, appears more attractive) , your value does not necessarily increase after the relationship ends.  Although you have gained important “relationship” experience, if it does not end on a good note, you may come out of the relationship emotionally drained.

When this post originally went up it sparked some heated debate and some fueled personal e-mail messages. Could I possibly be suggesting that men have NOTHING to gain from a serious relationship? Am I saying that women do not give up anything if not more when entering a relationship?

Absolutely not.  For the record some of the best personal growth I have made has been when I was a part of a serious boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.  I suggest to all men that you have at the very least one long-term relationship. It’s important to realize on any date or any new girl that you meet that both of you are open to potentially having a serious relationship. Although I know many women out there think otherwise, The Unbreakable Man Laws are not about leading a ridiculously promiscuous lifestyle full of perpetual bachelorhood. It IS about having choices and not settling for less than you are worth.  It’s my understanding that many women feel the same way as many will not hesitate to axe a potential relationship if they come across something they don’t like or agree with.  The Laws are designed to give men understanding of why “She just didn’t feel the same way” as you.  How can a man be a better boyfriend if he’s only dated one girl in the past? Does the act of being able to lead a successful relationship not require work on his part? Any progress on the relationship front comes through trial and error, blood, sweat, and in many cases tears.

With response to the other question I also received frequently, “Don’t women give up a lot in relationships?” I’d say women give up the same if not more than the men do. In fact, her “opportunity cost” to enter a relationship is greater than the mans.  If she agrees to a monogamous relationship, she is (hopefully) turning down all potential suitors for however long the relationship last.  Never before have women had as many choices for men as now. It may be because of these endless choices that the divorce rate continues to grow. Perhaps she is realizing her own “opportunity cost” and what she is giving up to be with a man when she has so many other options at her disposal.  It is not unrealistic to think that she is going through the very same “thinking” process as the man is when determining whether to stop seeing other people.   It’s for that reason that until both individuals  “decide” to make things official, both parties have the right to see other people.  Or as many women have said to me in the past in one form or another “I don’t have a boyfriend, but I know someone who would be pretty pissed off if I said that…”

Back to the topic heading, most men are born with this innate understanding of “Opportunity Cost”. Most need only look at their fathers to understand they better know what they are getting themselves in to when settling down or choosing to enter a monogamous relationship.  Anyone who has been part of a long-term relationship will attest, its not all fun and games and there are many messy moments in between that can seemingly pop up out of nowhere from the man’s point of view.

So thus, in the hazardous “dating” world, we are forced to decide whether we should enter a monogamous relationship with one person or keep our options open.

To a man, a commitment is not necessarily a win/win situation. Yes, there are definite benefits to both genders becoming monogamous, however,  he has just entered a “contract” agreement that has basically sold his sex life to one woman. Although women love to throw statistics at men that married men are more “stable”, “live longer”, are “healthier”, most men are not thinking that far in advance. They are looking at their “Opportunity Cost” and all of those women they haven’t slept with YET. Keep in mind, that at no point is “Opportunity Cost” greater than at the very beginning of the dating sequence, so within the first month or two, this should be considered.

Did she just say "Commitment"?

Women came up with their own strategy to combat this “Opportunity Cost” theory – they called them “afraid” to commit. Nothing will get under a man’s fragile ego quicker than calling him “afraid” to do something. Don’t fall for this psychological reversal, gentlemen. You are not afraid.  You want to make sure you have an increased return on investment. And from your perspective, the only person benefiting from a monogamous relationship is her!

Ladies, I know many of you are furious that I have said such a thing – Am I suggesting that the only person benefiting from a serious relationship is the woman? No, there are plenty of benefits to a monogamous relationship.  This “theory” hopes to explain why a guy might not want anything “serious” right away.   He may get to know you and decide that regardless of entering an official relationship with you, he has decided NOT to pursue other women while he sees you. However, it is this “opportunity cost” that I hope women take away from this and why he might not be in as much of  a “rush” or ready to move in with you after going on three good dates.

During a man’s time single, in order to make sure he gets an adequate return on investment and finding the RIGHT one, he wishes to engage in mutual funds and diversify his portfolio. Why have your sex life dependent on one individual when spreading it out amongst many will pay off (hopefully) in the long run? Is it not better to partially invest in many women and hold off for the one “sure” hit? This does not mean sleeping with as many women as possible, it does mean that you are “dating” and “open” to finding the right one.

With that said, it is not “Fear” of commitment that affects most men, it is the “Fear” of loss of self, individualism, and all of those qualities that will take away from what he considers “freedom”. Thus, the woman who successfully “captures” this man is not the one who challenges his very existence as a man by challenging his “fragile” ego but the one who compliments his existence, helps him become a stronger individual and is genuinely considerate of his well – being. In return, he promises to support her goals and dreams which she has done her best not to sacrifice on his behalf.

Bottom Line – Invest Wisely!

A man’s natural instinct is to stick with what works. Instead of taking chances in life, he will easily fall into a creature of habit.   It is for that reason that Man must consciously hunger for knowledge. As a vampire requires blood for survival, Man shall crave knowledge.  Your value in society is your ability to look at the exact same situation as everyone else and draw a unique conclusion.

Ponder Thy Flower. Look at everyday situations "anew".

Society has done a wonderful job of dulling and numbing your senses.  It’s goal is to make you forget your basic nature of survival and make you dependent on manufactured goods. A man who has forgotten how to ask questions, is a man who is easily controlled.

Ultimately your ability to differentiate yourself from your brother and sister will be that which will attract those around you.  You can grow this distinctive quality by thirsting for knowledge that you naturally find interesting.  If your interest is in music and the arts, feverishly seek every avenue which will help you learn them to mastery. If your interest is in math and physics, attend every lecture and study every book at your disposal.  Attend classes, read everything on the subject you can get your hands on, talk to masters in the field,  your sincerity in learning will remind those who you consult for advice why they love what they are doing…

Man’s best friend is the perfect example of how your thirst for knowledge should look like…When on a leash, you should strain to break free, strain to get out there and just…go.  Every walk, an adventure; Every leaf, a mystery; Every season, a gift.  Struggle to creatively look at normally “mundane” situations in a creative new light. Your ability to do this will prove fascinating to those around you…

There is a reason why after thousands of years of evolution, you have the ability to remain curious. Nature abhors excess and will do away with that which is unnecessary. We would not have this “curious” sense, if it had not proven integral to our survival.

This dog has the right idea! Leave no stone unturned in your quest for knowledge!

One powerful exercise that I saw in a book designed to help grow your cognitive abilities, suggest to formulate 100 questions in a single session.  It’s important to go all the way up to 100 because you’ll find that you will come to rough patches and start draw blanks.  When you do so, do not give up and embrace this feeling. Challenge yourself.  Seek to become one with it and move through it. Do not give up. Push through it.

The questions can range in every shape and size; from “What is the color red?” to  “What is the meaning of life?” to “Why does man walk upright”; From “Why did my girlfriend in 7th grade dump me” to “Why is she contacting me now and sending me pictures of her baby?”.   It’s important to understand you are not seeking the answers in this exercise. It’s the QUESTION that is most important. Cultivate an insatiable, unsatisfiable, thirst for knowledge.