Fairytale Complex

There are a lot of people out there looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right and longing for fairytale relationships. Here are a few categories that put a twist to that definition. You could be living that storybook lifestyle and not even know it.

Beauty and the Beast: I know you've seen and thought this one before. The cute guy/girl with the not-so-hot significant other. And you're just dying to know what their personality is like or what they have in common that makes their relationship work. Superficial, but the world is built on superficiality. The thing you don't realize is that sometimes, these couples have the best relationships because they're in tune with who each other is on the inside. Other times it's problematic because each person involved in the relationship can hold on to the other for the wrong reasons. In various types of Beauty and the Beast relationships, the more attractive mate is insecure and the relationship poses as a security blanket for them. The less attractive mate could be scared to let go of the relationship, even if they feel they're not being treated right because they don't think they can ever get any better so they try to hold on to it. Be open to prospective mates, because you're never sure of what you could be missing and above all don't settle for less than what you deserve.

Cinderella: The girl looking for the glass slipper. She has such good qualities but it's not really noticed or taken into much consideration from others. She's wondering when the hell is the Prince going to come along? The frustration can lead them to trying to create a Prince out of someone who doesn't fit the description. On the other hand, another Cinderella is the girl who believes she posesses more valuable characteristics than she actually does. Therefore she scrutinizes every little detail about people she dates, thinking they need to live up to her ideal image of royalty. Bottom line is you can't force things into place, you have to let them fall into it.

Hansel and Grethel: The brother and sister type who are so close to each other that they're scared to elevate to anything else in fear of risking their friendship. No matter how many breadcrumbs they leave, they can't find their way to that ideal spot that they really want to be at. It's a tricky position to be in. Most argue that it's not worth it to lose close relationships, but another way of thinking about it is that a lot of positiveones include people who are friends aside from being lovers.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: With this complex, I'm not placing a female gender on Goldilocks, even though she's a girl in the story. This refers to that person you know who's constantly going through friends and dating them, as if they're trying to find the right one out of a crew. Like Goldilocks, they test out the different areas, and then it's on to the next one. This usually causes ridges in female friendships more than males, because males are more likely to hold their friendships higher and just take it out on the female. Either way, this is just not a fairytale you want to be apart of.

The Gingerbread Man: This person is always running away from people who are in serious pursuit of them. But like the Gingerbread Man, it can only lead to their demise. It doesn't lead to any benefit. Whatever's preventing them from getting serious, needs to be analyzed. It's often due to hurt or what they learned from others experiences. Another scenario of the Gingerbread Man is the person who similarly avoids the right people and lets the wrong person capture them. It's common for people to look for love in the wrong places, so don't overlook the nooks and crannies. There could be gold there.

Fairytales aren't always good or have the best endings. Focus on writing your own story instead of looking for one that's already written.