It happens every day - a guy gets dumped and vows to win his girlfriend back.
And as he begins down that road, he makes it a lot longer than it needs to be.
Flowers, candy, love notes, cards...
mix CD's with songs on them - the list is endless.
As men, we're programmed by television and Hollywood to believe that all women want these things.
Hell, even the women say they want them.
But you know what? Women don't want what they say they want.
As any guy who's ever had a girlfriend will tell you, making a woman happy isn't always an easy thing.
Knowing what they're thinking is almost impossible, and understanding what makes them content is mostly guesswork.
So why should it be any different when your girlfriend breaks up with you? If nothing else, figuring out what to do in order to win her back should be even harder than before, when the two of you were still dating.
The motivations and desires within your relationship were not being met, and this resulted in your girlfriend ending things between you.
Buying her flowers or writing sappy love notes doesn't erase the fact that she's not getting what she wants.
Ditto for empty promises to change - any girl with a head on her shoulders will see right through that line, especially since you uttered it only because she's just broken up with you.
You can't argue with her, or fight her decision to end things.
You can't use logic, and you can't make promises.
You can't buy her love, or guilt her into coming back to you, or try to strong-arm your girlfriend into reversing the break up with threats or ultimatums.
So what exactly can you do to get your girlfriend back? The answer to that question is complicated, and differs slightly from situation to situation.
Although many girls share the same traits, most of them have radically different desires.
You need to know exactly what to say or do in relation to your own personal situation.
The actions you take will range from simple to complex, but they'll all be geared at two things vitally important to getting your ex-girlfriend back: making her miss you, and getting your ex to need you again.
Understand that you don't just want a reconciliation here, you want your ex to contact you and be interested in getting back together.
This seals the deal, because when she thinks reversing the break up is her own idea, any new relationship you build together will be stronger than ever.
To date your ex girlfriend you must be proactive; the faster you act post-break up, the easier it will be to get her interested in you again.
By putting yourself back into her mind she'll start bringing up old thoughts and great times that the two of you had together.
In this respect, your past will help you establish your future.