Thanks to the infamous John Gray, author of “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” men are chastised for wanting to “fix” everything. “Relax!!!” we are told, “You don’t have to be responsible for fixing everything that needs fixing.” Mostly women just need someone that will listen to them and, if they tell you something, it doesn’t mean that the woman wants it “fixed.”
So if my wife says something to me, how am I to interpret whether she wants me to be a listener or a fixer? For example, if Deni says to me, “I had problems with the dishwasher today,” does she want me to empathize with the difficulties that she had or is this a request for me to get my tool belt? I’m so confused.
Since I listen to other peoples technical problems all day long and am paid to fix them, it is hard to switch hats when I get home. I'm always in "fix it" mode, which isn't bad, because it means I'm in listening mode by default. However, wouldn't it be easier if women told us when they wanted us to listen or when they wanted to fix things, life would be so much easier.
