There may be no cliche you hear more (in regards to relationships) more than, “Nice guys finish last”. I’ve heard it so much that I have gone from simply believing it, to embracing it, to denouncing it, time and time and again. However, I can say, through unrelenting personal experience that it isn’t entirely untrue.

If you look at all our great love stories, whether it be on film, television, books, etc, unrequited love is huge. This is where the nice guy finish last thing stems from, in my opinion. Odessyus had to travel through all kinds of hell before returning home to his Penelope. Romeo wound up banished over his love for Juliet. Jim had to put it all on the line several times before finally winning Pam. These are the heroes having to go through hell to get the girls they wont. They are nice guys, all of them, but it ain’t easy for them.

I like to consider myself a decent guy. Sure I have my bouts of sarcasm, insensitivity, and over all wise-assness. I have my issues, but then again, who doesn’t. There have been many situations where I have been the upstanding guy, the guy you can call at 3 AM when you are drunk and need a ride home, the guy who will lend a shoulder, ear, any other appendix too, the “nice” guy. Suffice to say, these girls are never the ones I wind up with. There have also been times where I have been kind of an asshole to girls. Maybe not in the traditional, pro-active asshole kind of way, but I’ve done things I’m not proud of. It’s more like the jerky, wish-washy, apathetic form of douchebaggery. I think everybody has their moments of assholeness.

The girls I have been nice to end up being “What ifs”, and the girls I have been a jerk to are the ones that have stuck around, and been impossible to get rid of. It’s almost a challenge to be able to get rid of a girl through sheer assholeness. I have a few friends who have been through similar experiences.

So why do girls go for the asshole? And why do guys act like jerks to the nice girls, the ones who like them enough to put up with their bullshit?
Any guy would much rather go for the challenge. They are the ones that you really have to work to get. Therein lies the appeal. It’s an accomplishment. Just how girls always want the asshole, guys always want the girl we have to win over. We want the girl who will keep us on our toes. Doormats, girls that let us get away with being a jerk, they are boring. They are safe and reliable. Some guys like that. Some guys will meet a girl, charm her, and with a month begin the decline into jerkdom. Why? Because they right there have begun a nice cycle that destroys both people. Sure, this cycle happens in every relationship, but it’s the bad kind of ruin.

It’s not so much as “Nice guys finish last” as it is, “Unchallenging guys finish last”. The assholes present a challenge. Just like how the bad boy is the cliche that all the girls find popular. There is something there that you just want to change, if only you could. If a guy is already willing to bend over backwards for you, then he essentially has nowhere to go but down. He’s nice, he’s great, and maybe the challenge is to keep topping himself to keep the girl interested. But with the jerk, you can reform him. You can make him sweet, charming, heart-warming. You can turn him into a better man.

I guess one of the big questions is that whether or not love is easy or hard. People who have found the right person will tell you that it’s easy. The huddled, embittered, single masses will tell you hard. Do we make it hard? Is it really so easy? Like I have said in here, people love a challenge. We’ve been taught the love is the reward. Relationships are a muddled mess of games. If people were always themselves, maybe it would be a lot easier. If we went for the nice guy, the unchallenging guy, it sure would be easier. Would it be as rewarding? Doesn’t it make it that much better when you are in a great relationship, after going through hell in the dating world. You never want to settle. I think a lot of people who wind up with assholes and doormats, they settle. They take the easy path. They are stuck with their one sided challenge, when it’s really about challenging each other.