Men like competition and Steak

Men like a challenge. So do many women. To be honest, nobody really likes anything that comes easily. If it was too easy then we sacrifice the opportunity to brag about it on social media. Why do you think there’s so many fit people on Instagram flaunting their muscles? As much as we enjoy labelling them narcissistic, they’re bragging because they worked really hard to look that way, and they’re proud of the effort they put in to get there. Also, they're hot.

Women like a challenge for a different reason than men do. Women like to understand, and try to relate to the flaws and the characteristics that they uncover in other people. Women are proud of themselves if they are intuitive and can work out what makes another individual tick. Then, depending on their feelings towards said person they decide to help them or not. This could* explain why women like flawed men. For many women, helping is their way of showing love, so a broken man is a woman’s opportunity to rescue something.

Not too dissimilar but enough to be confusing; men like competition for competition. Because they like to win things. They think that winning improves them and fosters excellence. If you win something then you are the best. If you lose then you are not. Simple. This also loosely explains why men like numbers and have a rational approach to many things. It’s because numbers are factual, they give you solid answers and they can show you clearly if you are winning or if you are not; how much you need of any one unit (kilograms, dollars, metres, poker chips, square inches of hamburgers, points or bullets). In the same vein, men like enduring the process of winning something because it requires effort, hard work, sweat and man tears. Therefore the winning is perceived as deserved, and the process is all the more sweet.

If you ate a kilogram hamburger and gave a man the trophy for winning the competition that you entered on his behalf he wouldn’t be nearly as sated. Similarly, let a man win a game of Scrabble and he would probably be altogether disappointed because he didn’t even try to win. He just did, there was no challenge and thus no point in even bragging about it.

The same goes for the guys on Instagram with the great rigs, who post their work out routines and sweaty selfie, if they just woke up one day with a banging rig, without having to endure any of the pain, protein shakes or shirtless praise then I bet the novelty would wear off. They might become complacent with their bodies and stop posting work out videos (and that would make me, and most of the women in the world very sad.)

What I’m getting at here, in a very round about, non competitive, non efficient way is that remaining nonchalant and independent is the best way to allow men to engage their naturally competitive selves and try to win you.

*could, could not – who really knows? More research required.