My wife says I over-analyze everything
I've noticed something a little bit strange about how people act toward me. This really only applies to women, I'm not sure of the reason why, but it happens almost 100 percent of the time:
If I'm acting like myself, when someone first meets me they almost invariably don't like me at first. I call this Stage 1.
Stage 2 comes right after Stage 1 (as you may have guessed). In this stage, which starts usually very shortly after stage 1 (quite literally it can be a matter of hours but generally is after a few days), people really start to warm up to me. Actually, to be honest, I don't think "warm-up" is a fair word- I'm usually really well liked in this stage. However, this fondness is short lived.
Stage 3 occurs after the person who was in stage 2 had developed a somewhat false sense of who I was. At this point, I usually do something that is either incredibly dumb or incredibly displeasing to them. Then, they go through a time where they really don't like me. Actually, to be honest, I don't think "don't like me" is a fair phrase- they pretty much hate me in this stage. However, luckily for me, this is usually pretty short lived.
Stage 4 occurs after I have crashed down off my temporary pedestal from stage 2 and the person has come to grips with who I REALLY am. At this point, I think I start to grow on them just a little bit. The hate from stage 3 slowly dissolves, and generally what's left is either a bit of indifference to me or a small liking to me. This seems to be pretty permanent.
There are some exceptions, but I think probably 80 percent of the women who've gotten to know me go through these four stages. A few have skipped some (some people I think skip step 1), and I can think of one person who is still in stage 3 after quite a long time (I even know which incredibly dumb/incredibly displeasing act it was that caused the transition from stage 2 to stage 3 in this case). However, for the most part, people tend to go through all 4 stages. To be honest, I'm still not entirely convinced that the one person I can think of who is in stage 3 won't still transition to stage 4. I guess that remains to be seen...
However, if I'm not acting like myself (which generally occurs at work and school), then the stages are very different, but usually result in the same outcome:
Stage 1: The quiet stage. They don't know who I am- and they probably don't care. Everyone thinks that I'm very quiet and super nice to everyone. Boy are they in for a surprise...
Stage 2: The "we've corrupted you!!!" stage. I can't tell you how many times women/girls have told me that they've "corrupted" me. By this they mean that they are the reason that I went from the quiet guy to the talkative and outspoken (and sometimes extremely zany) guy. Of course, this simply isn't the case- I was always the crazy talkative guy, I was just being very quiet at first.
Stage 2a: I'm calling this stage 2a because it really doesn't deserve its own stage, and it doesn't always occur. However, it does merit a mention. This stage is a very toned down version of stage 3 above. The person doesn't get really mad and hate me, but generally does get a little hurt by something I say/do. Often times, this really isn't my fault- they joke around with me, and I joke back. Since they still don't know me very well, they sometimes think that I was serious when I was only making a small joke. However, this is usually short lived and within no time we are cracking jokes left and right...
Stage 2b: Stage 2b is not a real stage. That's right, I'm making it up entirely. There is no point in it being here. Well, okay there is one point- I just want to see if there is actually anyone who would still be reading this. Hey- here's an idea- if you are actually reading this and have gotten this far, leave a comment that says "token atomizer." Just like that- no more no less. Then, if someone else were reading it, they would see the comment and wonder about it forever. Especially if two or more people left that same comment- then people reading it would really be confused! Come on, help me confuse people!
Stage 3: Stage 3 is equivalent to Stage 4 above. In this stage, the person starts to see who I really am and is usually somewhat fond of me. This is pretty permanent.
My wife says I over-analyze everything...
If I'm acting like myself, when someone first meets me they almost invariably don't like me at first. I call this Stage 1.
Stage 2 comes right after Stage 1 (as you may have guessed). In this stage, which starts usually very shortly after stage 1 (quite literally it can be a matter of hours but generally is after a few days), people really start to warm up to me. Actually, to be honest, I don't think "warm-up" is a fair word- I'm usually really well liked in this stage. However, this fondness is short lived.
Stage 3 occurs after the person who was in stage 2 had developed a somewhat false sense of who I was. At this point, I usually do something that is either incredibly dumb or incredibly displeasing to them. Then, they go through a time where they really don't like me. Actually, to be honest, I don't think "don't like me" is a fair phrase- they pretty much hate me in this stage. However, luckily for me, this is usually pretty short lived.
Stage 4 occurs after I have crashed down off my temporary pedestal from stage 2 and the person has come to grips with who I REALLY am. At this point, I think I start to grow on them just a little bit. The hate from stage 3 slowly dissolves, and generally what's left is either a bit of indifference to me or a small liking to me. This seems to be pretty permanent.
There are some exceptions, but I think probably 80 percent of the women who've gotten to know me go through these four stages. A few have skipped some (some people I think skip step 1), and I can think of one person who is still in stage 3 after quite a long time (I even know which incredibly dumb/incredibly displeasing act it was that caused the transition from stage 2 to stage 3 in this case). However, for the most part, people tend to go through all 4 stages. To be honest, I'm still not entirely convinced that the one person I can think of who is in stage 3 won't still transition to stage 4. I guess that remains to be seen...
However, if I'm not acting like myself (which generally occurs at work and school), then the stages are very different, but usually result in the same outcome:
Stage 1: The quiet stage. They don't know who I am- and they probably don't care. Everyone thinks that I'm very quiet and super nice to everyone. Boy are they in for a surprise...
Stage 2: The "we've corrupted you!!!" stage. I can't tell you how many times women/girls have told me that they've "corrupted" me. By this they mean that they are the reason that I went from the quiet guy to the talkative and outspoken (and sometimes extremely zany) guy. Of course, this simply isn't the case- I was always the crazy talkative guy, I was just being very quiet at first.
Stage 2a: I'm calling this stage 2a because it really doesn't deserve its own stage, and it doesn't always occur. However, it does merit a mention. This stage is a very toned down version of stage 3 above. The person doesn't get really mad and hate me, but generally does get a little hurt by something I say/do. Often times, this really isn't my fault- they joke around with me, and I joke back. Since they still don't know me very well, they sometimes think that I was serious when I was only making a small joke. However, this is usually short lived and within no time we are cracking jokes left and right...
Stage 2b: Stage 2b is not a real stage. That's right, I'm making it up entirely. There is no point in it being here. Well, okay there is one point- I just want to see if there is actually anyone who would still be reading this. Hey- here's an idea- if you are actually reading this and have gotten this far, leave a comment that says "token atomizer." Just like that- no more no less. Then, if someone else were reading it, they would see the comment and wonder about it forever. Especially if two or more people left that same comment- then people reading it would really be confused! Come on, help me confuse people!
Stage 3: Stage 3 is equivalent to Stage 4 above. In this stage, the person starts to see who I really am and is usually somewhat fond of me. This is pretty permanent.
My wife says I over-analyze everything...