{"id":2458836,"date":"2020-05-26T02:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T08:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/she-said-he-said-after-the-pursuit-he-still-needs-to-show-up-and-not-complacent\/"},"modified":"2020-05-26T02:24:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T08:24:00","slug":"she-said-he-said-after-the-pursuit-he-still-needs-to-show-up-and-not-complacent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/she-said-he-said-after-the-pursuit-he-still-needs-to-show-up-and-not-complacent\/","title":{"rendered":"She Said, He Said: After the pursuit, he still needs to show up and not complacent"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"732\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/shesaidhesaid-atd-012120-1-1-1024x732.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/shesaidhesaid-atd-012120-1-1-1024x732.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/shesaidhesaid-atd-012120-1-1-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/shesaidhesaid-atd-012120-1-1-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/shesaidhesaid-atd-012120-1-1-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/shesaidhesaid-atd-012120-1-1-2048x1463.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><span class=\"STND:STND BodyText Bold\">Dear Lori and Jeff,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">My boyfriend and I met a year ago through mutual friends. I wasn\u2019t interested in dating anyone at the time, but he put an incredible amount of effort into convincing me to give him a chance. He sent me cute little gifts, surprised me at work with lunch, and talked about the places he\u2019d like to take me. I caved and eventually agreed to date him. The first few months together were exactly what he promised: romantic dates, thoughtful surprises and fun adventures. The energy he was putting into us really inspired me to bring my best self as well. But after I became invested in the relationship things started to shift. He gradually got less romantic, and now the tables have turned so I\u2019m the one that is always having to plan things. For months he hasn\u2019t been the romantic guy he sold himself as. What do I do?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND Pullquote Title\">Signed,<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND Pullquote Name\">He\u2019s Phoning It In<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><span class=\"STND:STND BodyText Bold\">Dear HPII,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">Lori and Jeff: For many long-term relationships, romance dwindles over time. Once couples move beyond the honeymoon phase, comfort and security take hold. The motivation that was once there to captivate our partners falls away because the amount of energy put into romancing a new love interest just isn\u2019t sustainable for the long haul. But there needs to be a happy middle in which both partners can ease up while still letting their lover know they are special.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">Jeff: Men are sometimes at their best during the pursuit phase of a relationship, and then regress to a less appreciative and more apathetic state once they\u2019ve acquired their target. In her book \u201cMating in Captivity,\u201d Ether Perel emphasizes the need to maintain a low level of tension and mystery in a relationship. \u201cThe grand illusion of committed love is that we think our partners are ours. But, at best, they are on loan with an option to renew.\u201d Keeping that slight tension, through conscious acknowledgment that you both are making a choice to be together each and every day, is a good reminder that you don\u2019t \u201cbelong\u201d to him. He still needs to keep showing up in ways that meet your needs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For men in this kind of situation, vulnerability usually plays some kind of role. Perhaps he\u2019s worried that continuing to show his softer, romantic side will portray him as less of a man. Or he could be struggling to maintain his open and giving mind set. Either way, he\u2019s probably experiencing some difficulty in expressing himself and what he might be needing from you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">Lori: Women in your position can be easily pulled into trying to play the right game to get him to re-engage: \u201cDo I put in even more effort so he learns through me what a relationship should look like?\u201d \u201cDo I pull back to make him notice?\u201d \u201cDo I flirt with other guys in front of him so he sees that I\u2019m desirable?\u201d But none of these approaches will get you what you want. If you try to send signals, you\u2019ll waste energy and feel even more resentful. You need to be direct with him; compassionate, but direct.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Tell him what you appreciated about him before, be clear about what your expectations are now, and stay curious about why things have changed. Ask him what\u2019s different. He may be experiencing some internal dynamics that have made it harder to show up for you. If he\u2019s feeling a little depressed, anxious, or has taken a recent hit to his confidence, he may need to prioritize taking care of himself for a minute. But it\u2019s also possible that he has just become complacent. If that\u2019s the case, set a mental target date for yourself to see if he can get it together. If not, cut your ties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">Lori and Jeff: Sometimes when we see something we want, we\u2019ll bend over backward to make sure we get it. Once we think we have it, things can shift significantly. Make sure you\u2019re both still on the same page about why you\u2019re together, and share what you need from each other to move forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\">Lori and Jeff are married, licensed psychotherapists and couple-to-couple coaches at Aspen Relationship Institute. Submit your relationship questions to <a href=\"mailto:info@AspenRelationshipCoaching.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">info@AspenRelationshipCoaching.com<\/a> and your query may be selected for a future column.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/opinion\/she-said-he-said-after-the-pursuit-he-still-needs-to-show-up-and-not-complacent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Lori and Jeff, My boyfriend and I met a year ago through mutual friends. I wasn\u2019t interested in dating anyone at the time, but he put an incredible amount of effort into convincing me to give him a chance. He sent me cute little gifts, surprised me at work with lunch, and talked about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 07:41:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458836\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}