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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 4
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 4 |
My wife and I just started MB online about 1 month ago. I want to meet my wife's emotional needs. One of her major needs is Honesty and Openness. I have a very serious problem with the temptation to look at women. I am even tempted to look when I think it might be a woman. I work in a place where there are quite a few women around. So whether it is going from the car in the parking lot or up where I actually work there is this constant temptation. I tell my wife all of the details of the times when I am tempted to look at a woman whether at work, or at the store, or in a car driving beside us. It is extremely important for me to meet her need for honesty and openness. Everyday I usually have several temptations or times when I actually look at women, but I do not totally know how to eliminate this issue out of my life. I work at it very hard--bouncing my eyes, going away from where women are, avoiding things on tv,etc,---I want to be a blessing to my wife even further in this area---but I do not know how to get rid of the temptations in my mind or in daily life. This is not just an occasional issues but almost constantly when in public where other women are around. Now also please understand that my wife is also very attractive and keeps herself in very good appearance physically. I changed to a guy manager at work and request not to set by women. I am open to any advice and/or behavioral changes I need to make.I want to meed my wife's most important emotional needs. Thank you!
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 35,996
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Member
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 35,996 |
Please elaborate what you mean when you say "look at".
Do you mean that you are tempted to ogle random women in order to lust over them?
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985 Likes: 1
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985 Likes: 1 |
Hi John! Welcome to Marriage Builders! Did you read Dr. Harley's advice to you over on the private forum? As is the case with any behavior, the more you repeat it, the more firmly established it becomes as a habit. So something you enjoy doing is likely to be repeated, and that makes it likely to become a strong habit. You've been looking over women (gawking) for some time now, so it will be difficult to change that habit, but I know of many men who have been successful.
The easiest approach, of course, is to avoid being around women, so changing managers was a good idea. Events where particularly attractive women are present (sporting events --cheerleaders--, shopping centers, TV featuring attractive women, etc.) should be avoided. As for the other women at work, you will have to practice deliberately looking away. If you can't do it, you may need to change jobs to one where attractive women are not present.
I draw an important distinction between glancing and gawking. Glancing at women is inevitable unless no women are present. I view glancing as a look no longer than one second. Five seconds is my absolute upper limit for looking before it becomes gawking, but in your case, your wife may find even a five-second look to be offensive to her. So I would encourage you to limit your glances to one second, which will give you enough time to recognize that the person as a woman and that you would then look away. The more you practice that behavior, the easier it will be to do.
Gawking is offensive to most wives. They don't want other women to be making Love Bank deposits, even if those women will never be seen again. They want their husband's Love Bank to be closed to women who could meet their important emotional needs and be open to them exclusively.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt Exposure 101
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,704
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,704 |
I'm curious like Pepper. I don't know if you can help it with glancing at women but if you're staring at them and checking them out, that's another issue. If you're checking women out, the answer is easy -- stop it.
Husband (me) 39 Wife 36 Daughter 21 Daughter 19 Son 14 Daughter 10 Son 8 (autistic)
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