Marion A. Osieyo As humans, we fall in love with different individuals for multiple reasons and circumstances. Unfortunately, a strong emotional tie doesn’t guarantee a “happily ever after” with the person you love.
Although you like the person, you realize a relationship with them is highly improbable. You might have felt this way before. Maybe you’re learning how to stop liking a guy because you couldn’t tell him at the time, or you’ve fallen for someone who’s in a serious relationship.
You both might not have meant for each other at the time, but where do you go from there?
As with emotions in general, you bear the burden of the infatuation or love you feel towards someone, and when it goes unrequited, you might get bogged down emotionally. Therefore, it’s best to get over the feeling once you can see that it’s headed nowhere.
Admittedly, moving on might not be the easiest thing to do, but you must understand it’s possible. This article delivers essential tips to help make the process much more comfortable.
Would you like to learn how to back off from a guy you like or how not to like someone and move on as if nothing happened? Read on!
Identifying the Common Problem
When your crush doesn’t like you back, you might think life is unfair to you – or your emotions, at least.
Why do you need to learn how to stop liking a guy if things could’ve worked out instead?
The truth is unrequited love is much more common than you realize. It’s an integral part of life itself, and everyone gets to experience it at least once. Thus, it’s normal for you to have genuine feelings for someone who’s under no obligation to feel the same way.
It’s essential you accept this reality and identify it when it’s playing out. Why? Unrequited love may turn sour or toxic if left unhandled. It will leave you confused about whether to keep trying to win the person over or simply move on altogether.
What’s worse?
Letting go of such feelings can get challenging, even if you decide to disassociate yourself from them.
Despite all of this, you’d be doing yourself a huge favor by coming to terms with the fact the guy might never love you back, let alone be in a relationship with you. It helps you to put things in their proper perspective and open up to newer opportunities.
Quickly, let’s examine ways to stop liking someone you can’t date.
How to Stop Liking Someone You Can’t Date?
After accepting your emotional attraction might not get you your desired results, it’ll be best to try to learn how to stop liking someone afterward.
Towing this path saves you from needless heartbreaks and emotional stress, allowing you to explore mutual relationships.
But how do you know where to start?
Below are 5 things you can do to get over your feelings for that person:
#1 Limit Physical Contact
You must have heard the saying, “Absence makes the heart fonder.” That might be true to some extent, but so is the counter-saying, “Out of sight is out of mind.”
If you wonder how to get a boy to stop liking you, start by cutting off physical contact., start by cutting off physical contact. Limit their presence in your daily life or yours in theirs. Remove yourself from the common locations or groups where you both meet. The idea is the less you physically see the guy, the fewer thoughts and feelings you’d devote to him.
Although we don’t recommend discomforting yourself in the process, it may help if you get into a new routine, hobby, or activity – anything that’ll sufficiently distract you from the guy. You could also get closer to some of your other friends. Kindling other relationships depletes the want to have a near-impossible one with someone else.
#2 Quantify Your Preference about Him
There’s always a bit of rationality beneath all the raging affection you’ve got for the individual you intend to stop liking.
Nonetheless, if you want to know how to get over a guy who doesn’t like you back and quicken the process, it’s best to follow this tip.
Start by rationally identifying the attributes endearing you to him. Is he caring? Does he pay attention to the little details? Getting answers to these queries can help you to get alternatives in other relationships you have.
It’s worth mentioning that you might find out the guy’s got numerous endearing qualities, making the detachment difficult.
However, don’t make an irrational decision. Instead of nursing the idea that a passionate relationship with the said person is inevitable, focus on the possibility you’ll learn how to stop liking someone and just be friends.
What if there are not many preferences to note about him? You’re in luck. It will only take a little time for you to get over him entirely.
Overall, putting your thoughts and feelings in writing can help you massively on the journey of how to stop liking someone you can’t date.
Journaling also allows you to be upfront with yourself regarding how you feel about the person. Essentially, the practice frees you, allowing you to be in control of the pent-up emotions you feel toward him.
#3 Think Negatively About Him
You’d indeed go far in life by thinking positively, but if you want to learn what to do when you like a guy whom you can’t date, a little bit of negative thinking might help. It’s not as bad as it sounds, as you’d only radically change what you thought of them initially.
Remember, bursts of raging infatuation typically blind you to the other individual’s flaws and shortcomings. So, recounting their less endearing features knocks the “butterflies” feeling significant.
For instance, did you notice he shuffles his feet noisily while walking with you? Does he make a loud snorting noise that startles you whenever he laughs?
You can laser-focus on these not-so-flattering parts of your experience with the guy and realize he’s human – laden with flaws – and isn’t all that special.
Although this technique might seem negative, using it allows you to shorten the recovery period after you’ve cut off emotional ties with the individual.
#4 Unfollow Him Online
Cutting off from a guy shouldn’t end in the physical and emotional sense. Consider moving the campaign to the online front as well. In a highly digitized world such as ours, the person you care so much about most likely has some of his life on social media.
If you don’t take care, you may find yourself stalking the individual online to keep tabs on the latest events around them.
Going this path can halt whatever plans of cutting away and moving away from liking him.
To avoid such self-sabotage, it’s best to cut off online ties. Start by unfollowing the person’s social media profiles and blocking other links where necessary. That way, you’re shielded from their current online activities that might have kindled the feelings you’d like to dispel.
#5 Prioritize Yourself
How can you become a better individual through the breakup and recovery process of getting over someone? It’s the more significant question, as none of these tips will matter if you’re not a happier person in the end.
Thus, you must focus on yourself and your happiness as you learn how to stop liking a guy.
It starts when you understand that people aren’t under obligation to desire us as much as we want them, and it doesn’t mean that something’s wrong with you – it’s purely human nature we can’t control.
Therefore, it’s best not to go around feeling like you’re the reason the guy you like doesn’t want to date you. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong about you that made it your fault.
Resists the urge to sit around and mope, thinking of some flaws you might have that made you deserving of unrequited love.
The best thing to do is to focus on improving yourself and getting better at your craft and the other relationships you’ve got. If you have always dreamed about helping people to overcome a heartbreak, you can check job opportunities on Jooble.
Another excellent idea is going out to meet new people. Be open-minded about it and talk to them without the pressure of starting a romantic relationship.
Overall, be kind to yourself and not feel disappointed about the feelings you have. They’re valid, only that they didn’t get reciprocated. If you intend to learn how to stop liking someone and leave that chapter behind, you mustn’t judge your emotions harshly.
Read also: How to See Private Instagram Profiles Unnoticed: An In-depth Guide
Wrapping Up
Relationships are complicated human constructs with diverse definitions and circumstances. It’s possible to have a deep and genuine feeling for someone with the intent to be in a relationship with them, only for them not to feel the same way.
In some scenarios, an affair is off-limits to both parties – as is the case if one of you is already in a serious relationship.
Now you’re stuck with feelings and attractions that’ll lead nowhere; how do you stop liking someone so you can move on emotionally? Consider the tips above to set you on the right recovery process.
