“Love is not enough, baby. Come to me, molowo.”
The lyrics of this Nigerian song just keep playing in my head, and for good reason, which I will establish in this article.
The word “molowo” is probably looking strange, like an alien language.
Well, it’s from the Yoruba language, and it means “I am wealthy.”
In the song, the singer was trying to establish that love isn’t enough to make a relationship successful.
I agree with this sentiment, but he goes off track when he implies that wealth is the missing ingredient for a successful relationship.
That’s wrong.
While it is true that love alone can’t make a relationship successful, what you need is not money.
Instead, people also want respect and trust from the people they love.
Love, respect, and trust – This trio is enough to guarantee a successful relationship.
Whether it is a romantic relationship or just a friendship, they are the main ingredients of a successful relationship.
For the most part, it is easier to know when a woman respects a man.
Her adoration is usually very obvious.
Men usually show respect in very different ways.
If you have been confused and received mixed signals about whether your man respects you, it is time to put those doubts to rest.
Men usually love to express themselves through actions.
If a man has a deep respect for you, he shows it through his actions.
In this article, we will explore what men usually do when they deeply respect you.
Let’s get started!
If A Man Does These 10 Things He Has Deep Respect For You
1. He listens to you
Listening is not just hearing what someone says.
Everyone with functioning ears can hear what you say.
Actually, listening to someone is not as easy as we think it is.
Most of the time, we only hear what people say without actually listening to them.
Listening is when you intentionally pay attention to what someone is saying, not just for the sake of hearing alone but because you want to understand them.
You want to see things from their perspective.
It is a very intentional action.
The goal of any communication is understanding.
This means that listening to understand should be something we apply in every communication and relationship.
However, this is often not the case.
Most times, we reserve our ability to listen attentively to those we love and respect.
Men are just like that too.
When a man has a deep respect for you, he truly listens to you.
He does this because he is truly interested in knowing you.
He wants to understand you.
When a man always gives you his full, undivided attention, it is a sign of deep respect for you.
Love alone doesn’t guarantee this.
In fact, having someone who listens to you attentively is such a rare gift.
Most of the time, people are usually just patiently or impatiently waiting for their turn to talk.
Apart from this, we live in a fast-paced world, and people are constantly distracted by social media buzz and messages from work.
Amidst all these, having a man who really listens to you is priceless.
It shows how highly he regards you.
It displays how much he values you.
Most of all, it shows he has deep respect for you.
2. He always wants to talk to you
Communication is key to having intimate and successful relationships.
Whether it is a friendship or romantic relationship, when communication becomes less intentional, the connection in the relationship begins to weaken.
I used to have some really close friends years ago.
We did just about everything together until we had to stay in separate states.
That was the true test of our relationship.
Keeping in touch became a chore, and gradually, we became strangers.
The fact is you can’t always keep up with everyone you used to know.
So, you shouldn’t bother trying to.
However, when you share a special connection with someone who is really important to you, you may make conscious efforts to keep the relationship alive.
This is basically how to tell if a man has a deep respect for you.
As a guy, I have come to realize that many men have issues with communication.
Apart from the stress of work, there are times we just want to play video games or watch sports on the TV in peace.
But if a man truly respects you, he makes time to talk to you from his busy schedule.
He calls and texts you frequently and responds to your messages in a timely fashion.
I know that communication may sometimes be delayed; however, this doesn’t mean he doesn’t have deep respect for you.
He may be busy at work or otherwise occupied.
When a man avoids your calls and texts, it is definitely not a sign of respect.
So, if that man is intentional about quality and effective communication between you, it means he has deep respect for you.
3. He seeks your opinion
Really, you get this wonderful feeling when a friend seeks your opinion on important matters.
It makes you feel valued.
Beyond what it makes you feel, it shows how much they respect your opinion.
This is especially true for men.
There is this story about women being emotional and men being logical, hence implying that men are better equipped to make logical decisions.
Because of this, many men have great egos and prefer to make their own decisions without involving anyone else, especially women.
This makes it even more special when a man doesn’t just wait for you to make a suggestion but outrightly seeks your opinion.
He respects your opinions and wants to know what you think about matters.
You should note that asking for your opinion doesn’t necessarily mean he would do what you advised him to do.
He has a right to choose which path he takes, but the fact that he values your opinions so much that he asks for them shows that he has deep respect for you.
You shouldn’t mistake his failure to follow your advice for disrespect, especially if he carefully considered his choices and explained the reason behind them to you.
4. He doesn’t yell when he is angry
As a kid, I had two ways of showing my anger: shouting and fighting.
When I got older, I realized how unnecessary yelling was.
I learned to communicate my anger in much more effective ways.
Sometimes, I still find myself yelling at someone for doing something annoying.
But I have noticed that I don’t ever do that with the people I respect.
Rather, I calmly express my disappointment and annoyance more constructively.
Many people are the same way when they get angry.
They yell and say hurtful things to each other.
It is just one of the messed up things anger can make a person do.
If a man doesn’t yell at you or say hurtful things to you when he is angry, it is a sign that he has deep respect for you.
He tries to talk to you calmly even when he is angry at you.
And there are times that he may be just too angry to speak calmly.
So, he keeps quiet and waits until he cools off before speaking.
When a man does these things, it is a sign that he has deep respect for you.
5. He celebrates your wins
Have you ever met guys who feel the need to belittle other people’s achievements to feel good about themselves?
Trust me, it can be a very terrible situation.
And this is not gender specific.
Both genders do it.
However, many men are prone to think that they compete with their female counterparts.
They feel inadequate when they are beaten at something by a female.
It is pathetic, but it is something that has been ingrained in some of them since childhood.
I remember how some parents would get angry at their son because he came second in class.
Their anger usually wasn’t the second position.
It was the fact that a “girl is better than him.”
This sad style of upbringing makes many men engage in unhealthy rivalry with females.
So, dear woman, if you see a man celebrating your wins like they are his, hold onto him.
He is a special breed.
He doesn’t feel the need to belittle your achievements or compare himself with you because he respects you.
He isn’t jealous of whatever attention you are getting due to your achievements.
Instead, he is happy for you.
He knows you deserve every little bit of the accolades you are getting.
6. He is loyal to you
Loyalty is seriously underrated in many relationships now.
Loyalty is not just necessary in romantic relationships, it is necessary in all relationships even platonic friendships.
When a friend lies to you, it is a betrayal of trust.
However, beyond that, it is a sign of disrespect.
In romantic relationships, lying and cheating are very disrespectful acts.
It’s almost like telling your partner, “I can do anything to you.”
Any man who truly respects you wouldn’t lie to or cheat on you.
He would instead display loyalty to you.
He will be very sincere with you and care about you so much that he never wants to hurt you.
Really, this is different from when a man is loyal because he is scared of what you will do to him.
This is something truly altruistic: as altruistic as anything can be in our world.
When a man is this loyal to you, it is a sign that he has deep respect for you.
7. He spends quality time with you
While love can make a man want to spend quality time with you, respect also plays a significant role in ensuring this.
Love is enough to make a man spend quality time with you when he wants to, but respect is what makes him respect your need and desire for quality time even when he is totally swamped at work.
When a man makes time in his busy schedule to spend quality time with you, it shows deep respect for you.
I am a guy, and frankly, I believe I know how most guys think.
If a man prefers to spend quality time with you over hanging out with the guys, video gaming, and watching sports on television, he truly loves and respects you.
8. He speaks highly of you
One of the ways you know that someone thinks highly of you is how they talk about you.
How do your man’s friends and family perceive you?
What does he say about you in your presence and your absence?
These are clear pointers to his deep respect for you.
9. He doesn’t pressure you for sex
His words and actions show the depth of his respect, and actions like delaying sexual gratification in a relationship to honor you show that your man deeply respects you.
This especially holds water if he does most of the other things listed in this article, and there’s obvious chemistry between you.
Finding a man who honors your decision to wait till after marriage to have sex is like finding gold on the street.
It is very rare because many people believe in gratifying their physical desires in relationships.
However, if your guy doesn’t mind waiting and shows readiness to honor your desire to wait till after marriage, then that’s a sign that he deeply respects you.
10. He appreciates you
Most men usually take appreciation for granted in relationships.
They feel like they don’t necessarily need to say how much they love you since they already show it through their actions.
However, ladies love to hear the words as well.
A man who truly respects you knows how to appreciate you.
He compliments you and tells you very nice things.
He is intentional about not saying anything negative to you.
When a man respects you, he chooses to see the positive things about you and compliments them.
In fact, he regards your access as a privilege and ensures that he doesn’t abuse it.
You know those banter you have with your friends about how overweight or underweight they are?
They don’t reflect much respect for yourselves.
When you respect someone, even your criticisms are made constructively.
Ultimately, when a man intentionally ensures that he doesn’t hurt you, he has deep respect for you.
The keyword here is “intentional” because humans will always be humans, and one thing we all are is “imperfect.”
However, even when he unintentionally hurts you, he tries to make things right and never repeats the same mistake in the future.
While you look for the signs that he respects you in your relationship, you need to introspect honestly.
Do you also respect him?
Never forget that “respect is reciprocal.”