I’ve had my share of them

I’m working on trying to understand why I didn’t see it before. I’m working on accepting I was wrong at first. He is not what I expected–that is still taking some time to adjust and get used to. Its taking me a while to adjust to the over email break up (coward) and the lack of answers. Things were ugly, several surprises, and he was a jerk. But after reading this and countless heart-to-hearts I’m getting there. #5 really helped me understand and get explanations/answers he will never give/admit. Light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. Thanks.

Anyway, I enjoyed this post and wanted to share it with more people. 

How do women spot a jerk?

More importantly, how do you spot a jerk before you start dating him? Because clearly, the blinking neon sign that says “JERK ALERT” is only for those women he’s already hurt. I am not an expert; but that won’t stop me from offering some tips on how to spot said Jerk. With a bit of help from Sam, of course. 

1. “I’ll call you on Tuesday.”

If Tuesday comes and goes and he doesn’t call? He’s a jerk. Get rid of him immediately. You ARE good enough for a phone call when he says he is going to call, and I don’t care what kind of excuse (other than death) he comes up with when he does finally call. If this early on, he is already not sticking to his word? He’s a jerk and he’s not that into. Buh Bye.

2. Me, Myself and I.

Ok, I admit, it’s often hard to see from someone else’s perspective, but a non-jerk does try. When everyone else is consistently wrong, when everyone else is ruining HIS world, when the guy at Taco Bell purposefully messed up his lunch order just to ruin his day, the guy is a jerk. Drop that burrito and hit the road, baby.

3. The Sex Hound

Once the sex is done, so is he. Unless of course, he’s drunk and decides then you’re good enough to date. Or have sex with. Let’s remember ladies, a man who only wants to see you when he’s drunk isn’t much of a man. At least that’s this mama’s opinion. Now, if he’s good in bed and you’re happy with the booty call … by all means, have at it. Safely please. You never know where a sex hound has been sniffing around.

4. The Player

Imagine me shuddering here. I hate the players. Yet they are there, waiting … just waiting for the next loving, warm wonderful woman to come along. And at first? They are attentive. They pay attention, they open doors, they bring flowers, they call when they say they are going to call, they are charming. You think you’ve hit the jackpot. Problem is, so do the 3 or 4 other women he’s doing the same thing with. These are very hard to spot, ladies. My only advice here, is when you do find out you’ve been played, get some girlfriends to gather with you, hide your phone from yourself and stay away from him. Run in the other direction as far as you can, because he will be back when the other ladies dump him. And you’ve got to stay strong, because no matter what, he’ll play again. Just don’t let it be with you.

5. The Narcissist

This is probably, by far, the hardest jerk to spot. Lisa Earle McLeod, author of Forget Perfect says, “Jerkiness is related to narcissism. A jerk usually has a long history of failed relationships, and they’ll always tell you why it was the other person’s fault. The relationship gets really serious really fast, they get infatuated, but the second the jerk finds out that you’re not perfect and you no longer see them as perfect, they become demanding and critical.”

And once that disappointment blemishes the relationship, the narcissist can never retrieve the fantasy feeling of true love. That euphoria of perfection in another. And in my experience, by the time you figure it out, you’re in too deep to simply walk away. Warning signs here? The long history of the failed relationships – relationships that ended always at the fault of the other person, they want to get serious VERY fast and then there’s the infatuation. As romantic as it may seem, be careful. Love at first sight by someone can be dangerous as well as romantic.