Always the Exception...

Why is it that many (most) believe their relationship to be THE exception to the rule? If a guy has had an issue with gullibility in the past to his girlfriend's lies and catches his current one with a lie, why will he still say, "Yeah, but it's different this time. You don't understand."? If a guy insults a gal's family and disrespects her opinions, similar to other boyfriends of her past, why will she see him as THE exception?

It's like a neverending cycle with these people and even though they seem to be understanding when they're given advice, they almost never act on it, even if they claim to agree with your sentiments. These people just want yes-men, even when they're asking questions, which makes it very difficult to be a yes-man.

So, what can be done? They won't take advice seriously. They tend to believe that their situation is the exception to the rule. That would classify as denial.

I don't know why so many people think this way. Perhaps they want to believe that their story will play out like a Hollywood romance, a romance novel, etc. They just don't want to believe the similarities their relationship shares to that of others. Dinner and a movie date? Oh, like that's never been done before. A walk in a park? Picnic? Play? Art museum? Watching a film at one's homestead? Going to bars? Clubs? A zoo? Talking 'till late at night/early in the morning? Yeah, the situations involve two different people, but the events and feelings shared between the two people are not unique and isolated. They're commonly shared between people all over the world.

Even though some may be in denial that their predicament is THE exception, if they were to look back with an unbiased eye on previous relationships of theirs and others, they'd be ignorant to maintain that opinion.

We can look at numbers all we want with IQ's and the like, but it's difficult for me to look at a person as very bright when they consistently make the same mistake over and over again. If someone can truly gain insight from each and every mistake they make and are able to improve themselves as people by not admitting the same mistakes time and time again, I can look at them with a more appreciative eye, regardless of what a test may state their intelligence level is.