7 Major Mistakes Women Make that Push Men Away post image

7 Major Mistakes Women Make that Push Men Away


No one sets out to sabotage their relationship. Most of us have only the best intentions. We want it to work. We think about it, maybe even obsess over it, we put our heart on the line, we invest ourselves. Since our intentions are pure, it seems like we should get a positive outcome…but this isn’t always the case.

I get a lot of heat when I write about what women are doing wrong. I get accused of blaming women, of defending men. But I’m doing neither.

My job isn’t to excuse or blame, my job is to share and enlighten. I have spent most of my life studying human behavior and using my insights to help people improve their lives and their relationships. And a lot of what I learned came through devastating personal experiences, I literally was a classic example of what not to do for a large chunk of time. So when I talk about mistakes women make, understand that it’s coming from a woman who made all these mistakes and who wishes she had someone who knew better to set her straight! I wish I had come across articles such as this one, it would have spared me a lot of heartache and humiliation, to say the least.

With that, let’s dive in and look at the most common and disastrous mistakes women make that push men away.

1. Chasing after him

The vast majority of the time, if a guy likes you, he will let you know. It will be obvious. There won’t be any mixed messages or hidden clues to decipher. If he likes you, he will make it known and he will ask you out. Your only job is to show enough interest to let him know he won’t be shot down. This does not need to be obvious and over the top. A sweet smile and sultry eye contact will get the job done.

MORE: Why Do Men Pull Away?

If a guy has the opportunity to be with you and he just doesn’t take it, then he just doesn’t like you enough.

Rather than just cut their losses, a lot of women go on a quest to convince this guy that he should want to be with her. She’ll text him funny things, happen to show up places where she knows he’ll be, she’ll initiate conversations, she may even ask him out. The guy may respond to her advances by being polite, and she may mistake this as him being somewhat interested, but he really doesn’t seem to reciprocate the feelings. He may reply when you reach out, but he never initiates.

major-mistakes-women-make-that-push-men-away

MORE: Why He Didn’t Text You Back 

If there is any hope of him developing feelings for you, you will effectively kill it by chasing after him. Maybe this sounds unfair, why can’t you take a proactive approach to your love life and pursue him? Because you just can’t. Because it’s just not how things work. Because there is no need to pursue a man… if he likes you, then he’ll let you know. You can’t undo centuries of societal norms. This is how things have always been and it’s just how they are.

Now I’m not saying guys are turned off by bold women. Sometimes it can be sexy when a woman initiates. But after that, she needs to leave it alone and give him some space to pursue her. That is how men bond and develop feelings. That is what causes them to invest.

Whether you’re single or in a relationship, never, ever chase your guy. If anything, pull back a bit and give him the space to come to you.

QUIZ: Is He Losing Interest In You?

2. Being self-obsessed

Relationships typically fall apart when your focus stops being on the person you’re with and starts shifting to you. When you focus on your own wants, your own worries, your own fears, your own needs, and pay no attention to how your guy feels and experiences things, you essentially turn him into an object who is a means to an end.

The reason a lot of women can’t keep a guy’s interest beyond a few dates is that she gets so fixated on achieving some sort of relationship goal (like being official), and on figuring out how he feels. When you do this, you aren’t connecting with him as a person, you are using him as a means to feel good about yourself and worthy of love and that is not the pathway towards a meaningful connection.

The me-centered mindset can cause problems no matter what stage of a relationship you’re in, whether you’re casually dating or seriously committed.

Sure, you might do things for him. You might cook for him, clean his house, perform his favorite sexual moves in bed, tell him how much you like him, but none of that really penetrates a man’s psychology on a deep and meaningful level. The reason is that it isn’t genuine, rather, you are doing certain things in order to get him to feel certain things for you, and maybe do certain things for you. But this isn’t what activates a man’s desire to commit and doesn’t make him bond or invest in your further. What gets you there is getting outside of yourself and really seeing him for who he is.

MORE: When a Guy Withdraws After Sex 

3. Being entitled

One of the biggest turn-offs to a man is a woman who acts entitled and just expects him to do things. Now men do love a woman with high standards, but they still want to be appreciated for things, they don’t want a woman who just expects him to do certain things and be a certain way.

If you are a regular ANM reader, you know that men absolutely crave appreciation. That is the essential fuel a man needs to keep going in a relationship.

Appreciation is the key that unlocks a man’s heart. Every man needs it in a relationship in order to truly commit. A woman who acts entitled and ungrateful is probably the most unattractive woman in a man’s eyes.

Appreciation is essential, so much so that a guy will avoid a relationship, or break off a relationship, with a woman who won’t or can’t show him sufficient appreciation. Of course, women also enjoy appreciation, but the need isn’t usually the same.

More than appreciation, most women need to feel adored and cared for. They don’t necessarily need a man to acknowledge everything they do, they just want to feel that he cherishes them and cares and is fully invested in the relationship.

major-mistakes-women-make-that-push-men-away-2Lack of appreciation is usually the main reason men leave and is a major reason why men cheat.

When you truly see a man for who he is and appreciate him, it opens him up and activates his desire to bond and commit. It has to be genuine, though. You can’t fake your way into someone’s heart and you can’t show him appreciation as a means of getting the relationship you want. Doing this is the me-centered mindset.

Stepping outside of yourself and looking at him and appreciating him for the person he is, not just for the way he makes you feel and what he does for you, is other-focused and that is how a real connection forms.

MORE: The Top 3 Reasons Why Men Pull Away 

4. Being too needy

Usually, when people talk about neediness they talk about a set of behaviors: calling too much, being too available, getting jealous, wanting all of his time and attention, etc. However, neediness goes beyond behavior. It’s a mindset, and from that mindset, certain behaviors can manifest.

Some examples include: constantly needing reassurance that he still cares, panicking if he doesn’t call or text back right away, getting jealous if he spends time with anyone else, making him the sole center of your universe, obsessing over him, feeling terrified he’ll leave you, and so forth.

Neediness usually comes from an emptiness within that we believe somebody else can fill for us. We may come to believe that some other person can give us something emotionally that we can’t give ourselves: a feeling of being OK, of being worthy of love, of feeling good about ourselves. The problem is someone else can’t give us those things; they come from within.

major-mistakes-women-make-that-push-men-away-3

MORE: Why Men Lose Interest

Even though we’re constantly stimulated and more connected than ever thanks to the ubiquity of social media, most people feel more alone than ever and are lacking in real and genuine connections. There is nothing wrong with wanting a real connection; the problem is placing a vast amount of hope and expectation onto that person. You expect them to be your happiness, to be your completion, and then you become terrified of losing them, because when you put that spin on it then it does become a scary prospect!

If a relationship is your sole source of joy in this world then you will inevitably cling to it desperately, even though desperation kills relationships.

Desperation smothers the life out of the love and connection because when a person needs the other person to constantly respond to them in a certain way, they start acting “needy.”

MORE: What to Do When He Says He Needs Space 

5. Stressing over the relationship

You can’t force someone to love you or reciprocate certain feelings. If he is not into you right now, then just let it go. Don’t stress over where it all went wrong or what you should have done differently. Focus on yourself, focus on being a better version of yourself. Focus on being happy and complete. Focus on feeling great about your life and about who you are. This is what really captures a man’s attention. Not stressing over him and trying to do anything in your power to win him over.

There will always be something to worry about. In the beginning, you might think that as soon as he commits everything will be great and you’ll feel secure but it rarely works like that. Instead, you’ll worry about when he’s going to say he loves you, when you’ll move in together, get engaged, get married, and when you’re married you’ll worry if he still loves you, if he’s still attracted to you, if he’ll cheat … there will always be something!

major-mistakes-women-make-that-push-men-away-4

MORE: How to Tell He’s Losing Interest 

Worrying sucks the joy out of a relationship and creates a tense, uneasy environment. The truth is, 90% of relationship problems wouldn’t exist if women would stop obsessing and analyzing and just go with it. Relationships really aren’t that complicated. The problem is we make them complicated by creating problems that don’t exist and obsessing over how to solve them.

When you stop stressing out and obsessing about your own fears, worries, and nightmare scenarios, something great happens: you give the relationship room to breathe.

MORE: Why Men Disappear 

6. Committing too soon

Acting like you’re in a relationship will not get you a relationship. He’ll start pulling away even more.

Here is how this scenario usually goes down. Girl meets boy, girl really, really likes boy, girl cuts off all other potential suitors and focuses exclusively on boy even though they never decided to be exclusive. Boy tells girl “I like our relationship as it is and don’t want to label it” and girl is devastated but stays in the relationship anyway, hoping he’ll change his mind.

Yes, it can be difficult to keep your options open when you find a guy who shines so much brighter than the rest, but you cannot act like his girlfriend until you are his girlfriend. Why? Because no guy is going to willingly deepen a level of commitment unless he has to.

major-mistakes-women-make-that-push-men-away-5MORE: 10 Things Women Do That Drive Men Away

It’s not that guys are anti-monogamy, or don’t want to commit, it just isn’t a man’s natural inclination to want to be tied down. A man will only commit himself to a woman if he is inspired to and if it has a benefit to him. If he is getting all the benefits of having a girlfriend without the obligations that come with being in a relationship, then why in the world would he change that situation?

Plus, acting like you’re his girlfriend when he has stated otherwise will just make you look desperate and that is a big turnoff to a man and will cause him to withdraw.

If a man knows he is with an incredible woman and senses she will leave if he doesn’t commit in the way she wants, then he’ll commit. If a man is with an amazing woman but is kind of on the fence about her and senses she’ll leave if he doesn’t commit, then he’ll let her go. But if this same woman sticks around even though he won’t commit, then he might keep her around indefinitely and that is where the real trouble lies.

MORE: Exactly Why Men Withdraw 

7. Being negative

One of the biggest driving needs for a man when it comes to relationships is being able to make a woman happy. If he feels that he can’t, he won’t want to be with her.

No man wants to serve as his woman’s emotional dumping ground, it just adds more stress to his life and men are very drama-averse.

MORE: Why Men Pull Away When They’re Falling in Love 

Also, there is nothing lovable about someone who is demanding, nagging, sarcastic, bitter, frustrated, or angry. That’s not to say he’ll stop loving you when you’re like this, love doesn’t turn on and off like a light switch, but it will be harder for him to act loving towards you when you come at him from this negative place.

major-mistakes-women-make-that-push-men-away-6Being mad at him for not spending enough time with you doesn’t fill him with a strong desire to be around you because no one likes being around someone who is pissed at them or doing things because they were guilted into it.

If you want to have an amazing relationship, then bring an amazing, positive energy into your relationship. That is what will make all the difference.

MORE: What to Do When He Begins to Pull Away 

One last thing: If you think you might be pushing the man you want away, then take a look at the following quiz…

Are you committing the cardinal sins that ruin relationships? Take our extremely precise “Are You Destroying Your Love Life?” quiz to find out (and learn how to fix it before it’s too late).

Lots of love,

sabrina alexis

Written by Sabrina Alexis

I’m Sabrina Alexis, the co-founder, and co-editor of A New Mode. I love writing relatable, insightful articles that help people understand relationship dynamics and how to get the love they want. I have a degree in psychology and have spent the last 10 years interviewing countless men and reading and studying as much as I can to better understand human psychology and how men operate. If you want to get in touch with me, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram.

25 comments… add one

Leave Your Comment Now...

Jay

So don’t chase men because of evolution and societal norms but keep all your options open as a female? This condraticts heavily

Reply June 7, 2023, 10:33 am

Gab

Great articles. Love the transparancy.
Its not about sexism, its about understanding differences need want and wishes. some men have very “feminine” need wants wish, some women have very masculine ones.
But stereotype word itself exist for a reason : cause they bunch up average,
a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. wich both gender do

Reply October 25, 2022, 8:46 am

An actual guy

N°1 is HORRIBLE advice! “if the guy has a chance to be with you and doesn’t take, he doesn’t like you enough” NO! This is wrong! what if he’s shy or nervous? Help him out! make yourself avaliable. if he doesn’t show sings of being intererst, then you should leave him alone. Help the guy out! this is awful advice! He is a human being who has feelings not a machine of getting your number.

Reply July 13, 2022, 8:20 am

A Non

I (40’s m) met a woman at the pool who seemed interesting. I learned she was a comedian and she seemed confident. But I noticed she talked a lot about herself, didn’t give me a chance to speak, and didn’t ask me any questions. She repeated dropped that she was single and how horrible her ex was for kissing another girl in front of her. Her girl-friend mentioned she was having a show that weekend. I went because I had some time in my schedule. I didn’t recognize her immediately because she was in costume and her hair was completely different. She finally recognized me but she wasn’t warm at all and she didn’t remember my name. Looking back, I realized she glared at me once before without saying “hello” or being friendly at all. Her comedy set was awful. Terrible. Worse than an open mic night. She had energy at the beginning but it fell off and the material was limp. The previous ones weren’t either, so I figured the rest would be just as tedious. I waited and left just after she finished her set because giving her any sort of feedback wouldn’t been awkward and untrue. Plus, she didn’t know my name so I figured I didn’t owe her anything. I went to another bar and had a drink. Guess who shows up? She waves at some of the workers at the bar before marching over in a huff to read me the riot act. I said “I’m drinking my beer. Go away. I don’t owe you anything. You’re just embarrassing yourself.” She complains and screams in my face about whatever before threatening to call the cops on me (For what? Trying to pull a Karen execution by cops for not being her chef de claque entourage?). I maybe I could’ve said I left my iron on at home but I wanted her to storm off and not become a stalker. I laughed and had a laugh with a cute bartender I chatted up for the past 15 minutes.

Summary: “Comedian” was a malignant, entitled, self-obsessed, needy narcissist who couldn’t take the slightest criticism, disappointment, or lack of attention. Cluster B for bomb.

Reply May 2, 2022, 11:04 pm

Anonymous

Short answer: ‘Men’ don’t dig gender-narcissism.

Reply August 12, 2021, 12:48 am

Please help

We dated for a month or so, and I did EVERYTHING I shouldn’t do on our last 2 days together and post break up. I really like him, we are older, I’m 46 and he’s 51. I wish we had more time to get to know each other better. I feel in my heart it was meant to be and I screwed it up. Now he won’t even answer a text from me. I don’t need him for me to be happy, we really enjoyed each other’s company, until I acted like everything you describe. Is there any way for me to reach out without looking even more desperate and needy to get him to try again with me?

Reply June 14, 2020, 10:05 pm

Vicki

I have guy friend so close w/him. Feel like he isn’t as attentive & losing interest. I want more right now he doesn’t but we didnt rule out possible future romance. How do I keep his interest & make our texts & phone calls fun. Any specific advice? We are just good friends now.

Reply May 7, 2020, 5:16 pm

A man

This is wrong most of the time. Many of the tips here will actually make you loose the dude.

– An actual man.

Reply June 21, 2019, 2:30 am

Jason

This article is spot on especially #4 Being So Needy….
Some men are really good people and are not dogs a lot of men get pushed away by needy and obsessive women…. Period

Reply December 5, 2018, 2:32 pm

Jill

Quite frankly, I don’t read an article about this scenario from a woman. I want to hear it from a man. Anything less is speculation.

Reply October 14, 2018, 11:54 am

John

Trust me Jill, she’s spot on. What I don’t trust is any advice from a woman on what woman want. Because you don’t know what you want.

Reply May 2, 2019, 7:31 pm

Destiny

Most of these draw some men even closer and are not bad practices

Reply August 24, 2018, 12:34 am

Brad

Youre kidding, right? All of these send me the other direction

Reply March 12, 2019, 3:00 am

John

This guy says she is spot on. Everything she mentioned would drive (and has driven) me away.

Reply May 2, 2019, 7:34 pm

What Just Happened

Hi, I’m a new subscriber. I hope you reply to give me your opinion.

I find myself like other women, stuck and confused. I have been exchanging texts with this guy I mean on Match.com. I was busy at first and could not hook up with him and reply to his texts because, I was busy. I finally said yes lets meet, we planned a date. He then texted me 2 hours before we were to meet for our date and cancelled the date. His reason, could not finish work on time to make the date. I simply replied. “No worries”. Its been 3 days and I have heard a word from him. He used to be quick to respond and send cute texts. He wouldn’t always text me that he was thinking about me and send hearts and smiles. After we set up a date to meet, planned dinner, etc. The very next day his texting stopped. The next time I received a text from him was 2 days later and it was to cancelled our date. What just happened? I think he found someone else…

Reply June 12, 2017, 1:19 pm

Midna

Today I realized about my me-centered-mindset when I was speaking with my boyfriend. I was confused because I know I truly love him but in a way I’ve always projected what I think of him on what he does, and tonight I saw him for himself, the way he is. This article is just what I was looking for, the thoughts and emotions I wasn’t able to classify in my mind. Thank you very much, really, I am deeply grateful for you to put a voice on my feelings. I hope the best for you in your life.

Reply June 9, 2017, 8:24 pm

Emily

Excellent advice. All of it is relevant and true! I think it’s especially important to focus on yourself and being a better version of yourself. You will feel happy and complete instead of unconfident and stressed out. Focus on feeling great about your life and who you are instead on what a guy is doing or not doing. Let him come to you. Don’t force it. It works. Plus it makes life a lot better.

Reply May 16, 2017, 11:01 am

Shannon

That’s absolutely correct Emily….it took me a long time to get there…After being married since I was 19 and getting a divorce at 34….I’m just learning how to date…lol…When I was younger, you go out, start hanging out a lot, then you become intimate, at that moment you’re a couple. There were no titles, no talk about if this a relationship….now you can be hanging out, having a good time, being intimate…and you still have to get clarification on whether or not you’re in a relationship….I had to adjust and make a rule of mine if he doesn’t say it, then I’m single and dating…LOL…ITS MORE FUN THAT WAY…IM NOT STRESSED AND I GET TO RELAX IN WHATEVER IM IN and keep my options open..Women invest too much time into men these days instead of having a life of their own…and being dependent on their own happiness…….IT TOOK ME SIX YEARS TO GET HERE, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER….LOL

Reply May 16, 2017, 1:41 pm

Grace

Wow. I think I’m guilty of doing all of these except for the appreciation part because I always appreciate my boyfriend. He’s so busy with his work that I bombarded him with calls and text messages. I tried to break up with him but he says he loves me. Should I believe him?

Reply May 16, 2017, 10:04 am

Shannon

Believe in yourself…..don’t get lost in his words…his actions will show you…until then invest in you!!!stop all the calls and text and get a life separate from him…develope a social life so you can stop worrying about him so much. Go out with friends…join a group…..be independent so you won’t count so much on him for companionship. If it’s meant to be, it will happen and it won’t feel forced!!!Good luck!

Reply May 16, 2017, 1:45 pm

Faten

I think the first reason you said it happens to me i do i gave him always his space but he never text me and he was call me sometimes at the beginning of our relationship and then he stops because his study and always busy i feel like he pushes me i tried to brok up but he rejected he said he loves me and he will does but i start feel like i dont know i cant figure out anything about him or why he’s doesnt has a time for me i hink i need a help here

Reply May 16, 2017, 7:05 am

Hidayah

Sometimes, women need to do these 7 mistakes so she knew how to appreciate herself by learning from these mistakes. I had experienced someone warned me about these, but I ignored these laws and I learned from my mistakes. I keep loving him as the way he is. Nobody is perfect, and sometimes love stories need ups and downs to be more romantic.

Eventually, the lust become love. And the men will noticed that. So, he will come to her again.

Thank you for sharing.

Reply May 16, 2017, 7:00 am

Faten

The first thing you said it does happens with me my boyfriend and i dont know how to describe or explain but never matter when i text him just sometimes reply in few minutes but always i have to wait and it depends about his and always about his even when i gave him much space always me who has the text first i because he’s always busy and doesnt has a time for me or anything else i start feel like he pushing me out or somethings else i dont know
I think i need a help

Reply May 16, 2017, 6:57 am

Tara

Great article as always! But ugh, I’m guilty of so many of these.

Reply May 15, 2017, 11:16 am

Shannon

Don’t worry Tara…we all were at some point. You can only move forward with a new mindset. Once you free yourself….and live for your own happiness….DATING WILL BE A BREEZE! It’s all about your confidence and being happy with only yourself!!! It took me years, and I still don’t get it totally right when I date because dating is so empty these days….., but I’m at a point that either he takes me or leave me. I’ll be happy either way! LOL…. Love and learn!!!!

Reply May 16, 2017, 6:40 am

Leave a Comment

Recent Relationship Forum Activity

STOP LETTING MEN
CONFUSE YOU

Sign up for our
free newsletter
and get a free chapter
of our book,"He's Not
That Complicated"