During childhood, your parents ingrained a mantra in your consciousness that you should work hard to ensure you become independent and never have to rely on any man.

Thanks to this hard work, you have climbed the layers of success in the corporate world after putting in the time at school to get a worthy degree.

Being that you have this mindset, you give off the energy and persona that you don’t need a man in your life.

Think about your friends and family members and how often they have told you that you are strong.

This is usually seen as a good thing and a compliment.

But this just reinforces the likeliness that you are constantly in this mindset of being strong and independent.

A man usually tries to find where he fits into your world.

If he were to date you and you gave off the energy and persona that you don’t need him, he would struggle to find his value.

Men are raised to be of value in society in what they build and how they provide.

This is especially true for a man who was raised traditionally.

An independent woman who leads with her accomplishments and clearly exudes a strong independent persona can make him feel as though there is nowhere for him to fit in your life.

He doesn’t have a role or purpose.

This is disarming.

His entire life, he has been all about providing value.

With you, he has no place to do any of this.

Although you believe that being an independent woman should be a good sign to a man, as it shows that you don’t need him to take care of you financially, the traditional man still wants to feel needed.

When you lead with your accomplishments as an independent woman, he thinks you only care about what you have achieved in life and have no place to acknowledge anything he does for you.

He is of the impression that you will always think of him as someone less than because you are either making more money than him, have a more prestigious job, or have more university degrees.

This is an approach that makes you incredibly unappealing to these types of men.

It’s arrogant and condescending to him.

In addition, traditional men worry about how family-oriented you are.

Were he to date you and get serious with you, he is thinking about what kind of mother you would be.

Will you quit your career or take extended time off to raise the kids?

Will you value staying home and taking care of the household, which includes cooking and cleaning?

A traditional man would worry about all of these factors if he were to date you and consider marrying you.

The progressive man is far more likely to be open to an independent woman who touts her accomplishments and wants to keep working as a mother.

This type of man is likely the one who would align with the energy and persona of an independent woman.

If you are open to such a man, you can find him at political rallies and campaigns, recreational co-ed sports leagues, running and cycling clubs, yoga classes, environmental and volunteer spaces such as animal shelters, food cooperatives, or environmental cleanup projects, independent bookstores and trivia nights, indie music festivals, gallery openings, farmers markets, and local cafes with community bulletin boards.

That said, if you would much rather date a traditional man and have had a hard time getting one to take you seriously, you would have better luck by allowing such a man to be of value in your life.

This is where you let him take charge in certain areas of your life, whether it be in making plans for dates, paying for dates, making decisions, or giving advice that you respect.

All of this increases the chances you find a traditional man to date, and he sticks around.

Traditional men are at church, civic clubs, heritage festivals, county fairs, agricultural expos, and estate or equipment auctions; gun clubs and shooting ranges; car shows and garages; country clubs; golf driving ranges; boat docks; fight gyms for boxing, jiu-jitsu, and mixed martial arts (MMA); breweries and sports bars; and home improvement and outdoor stores.