For many, shopping has more or less become a reason for living. If you find yourself at loose ends on a Saturday afternoon, you go to the shopping mall. And while thats not all that bad in itself, its inevitable that once there, you find you simply cant resist buying something. And even that wouldnt be so bad. But often, in the privacy of your home, you look at the article and wonder, what on earth where you thinking when you handed over your good money for an absolutely useless piece of merchandise.

More often than not, we are persuaded by the very environment in which we find ourselves. Or are persuaded, against our better judgment, by a well-trained sales person.

Decision to get married is sometimes very much like the idea of buying something that you really dont need, or want, or even like, but there is the opportunity and you either dont know how to say no, or think the idea will grow on you given time. Or the situation is conducive to nothing but a yes.

For example, there are those public proposals with thousands of football fans waiting for your answer to one of their heroes. Apart from fearing for your life if you knocked back the fellow, how about that rush of adrenalin to think that you are the envy of every woman in that stadium.

Then theres the one were the engagement ring is presented to you there and then, and even if you dont care for the design, you know theres going to be a lot of hurt feelings if you dont respond in the right way.

The future King George Vl is believed to have proposed to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, a number of times without getting the answer he was looking for. But undeterred he kept on asking, until she gave in.

While this turned out to be a happy marriage, its believed that if you have to persuade your partner to marry you, its better that you dont. Somewhere in the future, when the two of you have the inevitable quarrel, there will lurk in her mind the thought that after all she had never wanted to marry you in the first place.

Sure, books are full of stories of persistent lovers who are eventually rewarded. But by and large if you find, when you pop the question, that she doesnt seem overly thrilled, respect her judgment. She might know what shes talking about.