Never let your partner do this...it's disgraceful.

If there's something you should never allow your partner do, it's to treat you like an option rather than like a priority.

I've said time and time again that we should never expect our partner to complete us, as only we can achieve that.

However, it's fair game to lean toward our partner when:

We've had a rotten day and could use a little pick-me-up through their support and encouragement

We've experienced a happy moment or occurrence -- whether a promotion or achievement of some other personal/professional milestone -- and would like to share it with them

We're facing a tough challenge or decision and would value their input

But if your partner treats you like you're secondary to other matters or people, you've got a major problem on your hands -- one that needs to be addressed immediately before tensions escalate further.

Maybe you've been yearning for a date night with her for months, but says she has to work late or already made plans with friends.

Perhaps you've been wanting to stay in and watch a great flick like you did in the old days, but he'd rather play video games or read.

Granted, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with using these as reasons on occasion.

After all, we all have to work late from time to time, and surely there have been instances where we've yielded to our friends' preferences/plans being that they're visiting from out of town or hosting a special event in which they'd like us to take part. Maybe we're not feeling well and want a little distance to play or read, assuring them it isn't personal.

But once these reasons become frequent excuses, that's a different ballgame entirely.

If your partner is chronically late to dinner because they're supposedly working late, it's not ludicrous to wonder whether something else is at play. Do they have someone on the side? Are they unhappy in the relationship and using work as a pretext to spend less time with you?

Rather than speculate, ask your partner -- in a cool-and-collected manner -- why they've distanced themselves.

Maybe it wasn't intentional. They could have hit a rough patch and haven't been candid about it. But even so, you have to wonder why they don't open up to their own partner of all people.

In the worst scenarios, it's unfortunately because they don't care. They may indeed be cheating or have otherwise checked out of the relationship completely, putting their partner a distant second behind work, hobbies, and other things.

If talking about it with him or her seems to be getting you nowhere, the ball is in your court. You could wait around hoping they'll eventually come to their senses, or pack your bags.

Either way, once someone has reached this level of indifference, the relationship may be beyond saving. You need to ask yourself way before this -- once you start noticing patterns of unseemly behavior -- whether you deserve better.

Women vs. Men: Who likes to backstab more?

Whether it's on TV or in the workplace, the general consensus seems to be that women gossip, backstab, and stir up more conflict than men do. But, as with every other topic, I thought it only fair to put this so-called stereotype under the microscope. If you watch reality shows like Celebrity Apprentice, you'll notice it's the women who spend far more time bickering. While the men do at times become embroiled in tit for tat, it's the women who are portrayed as meaner and more hostile. In the workplace, I have noticed that women seem to gossip far more than their male counterparts. I haven't really seen any cases where a person blatantly backstabs the other, but I have caught both men and women in little white lies. If it is true that women are generally more into backstabbing and gossiping than men, why is this the case? I believe that it isn't fair to make a blanket statement like "all women play these games while all men keep to themselves and pre...

Do you have Isolophilia? Find out...

You're probably asking yourself, "What in the world does Isolophilia mean?" It sounds like it would be something negative, doesn't it? After all, words that end in "philia" (e.g., pedophilia) tend to involve things we want nothing to do with. But Isolophilia isn't something all people deplore. In fact, introverts like me welcome it. Put simply, Isolophilia is defined as having a strong affinity for solitude. It describes a person who relishes being alone. While extroverts can only take so much solitude, we introverts find that it rejuvenates us. In order to recharge our batteries, we need to retreat to a quiet environment where we we're left alone to rest and/or gather our thoughts. Extroverts, on the other hand, become bored and drained when they're alone for a lengthy period of time. Social interaction is the fuel that drives them. So while an extrovert would probably do anything to avoid feelings of Isolophilia in most cases, an...

Men prefer to marry brunettes

Study after study shows that men prefer blondes as girlfriends or mistresses and brunettes as wives . It seems many men see brunettes as more trustworthy and loyal. What's more, even though participants claimed that blondes are better in bed, they feel brunettes are better kissers and more affectionate than blondes. I find these results to be rather interesting. In my high school and early college days, I actually had a preference for blondes myself -- that is, until I hooked up with my now-wife. From that point on, I deemed brunettes as more attractive and marriage material, probably because they reminded me of and more closely resembled her. I think we can blame Hollywood, shows like Baywatch, and Playboy for painting blondes as wild, big chested, promiscuous and loose. (Yes, I know that there are brunettes in Playboy, but they seem to be in the minority.) When someone tells a man to think of an attractive blonde, who do you think likely crosses his mind? More likely than...

How to Read People

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