When You Like Someone But Not Ready for A Relationship

There are always going to be moments when you feel you like someone but you are not ready for a relationship with them. You see a handsome boy or a beautiful girl and then you suddenly start thinking about getting close to him or her. This is one scenario.

On the other hand, you may be on the other end of the situation; in this case, a guy or a lady likes but makes it clear to you that they are not ready for a relationship with you.

Either of the above scenarios has what they mean, and if you don’t learn anything from this post, you will see clearly what it means when you or someone who likes you does not feel ready for a relationship, and what you can do in either case.

Reasons You Don’t Feel Ready For A Relationship

Whenever you like someone and also feel that you are not ready for a relationship, it could mean that you are not physically, emotionally, or financially ready for a relationship but it’s not always so. Countless other reasons could explain why you don’t feel prepared for the relationship.

Let’s explore these reasons briefly…

1. You don’t like the person enough

This is by far the number #1 reason why you may not feel ready to enter a relationship with someone you like. While you may feel unready for a relationship, I always believe that there is someone who would make you let down your guard about entering or starting a new relationship.

Many things that attract one to someone else. The person may be smart/intelligent, beautiful, or rich, and you just might want to get close to them for that reason.

Frankly put, you may simply want to have a bite of them without any desire to fully stay with them. It is a selfish desire but as humans, we all experience a lot of these things regularly.

2. Previous heartbreak

Another common and important reason why you may not be ready for a relationship with someone you like is if you recently experienced heartbreak and you want some more time to heal fully from it. This can scare you from making any commitments because you don’t want to be hurt again.

The usual response to this kind of fear is that you want to find someone who is ready to prove to you beyond all reasonable doubts that they love you even if when you are trying to push them away.

3. Career pursuit

Sometimes, you might not be ready to handle having a relationship with a career, especially during the early stages of your career. This may be because of the assumption that keeping a relationship is always very challenging. And truthfully, once you feel you cannot handle a relationship with another aspect of your life, it shows you are indeed not ready for a relationship.

3. Financial constraints

You may feel that you are not ready for a relationship if you are not yet financially stable. Having something doing that can fetch you money can give you some level of independence and capacity to meet some needs in a relationship.

4. Fear of commitment

There is something referred to as a pathological fear of commitment or marriage. This is called “Gamophobia“, and it is one reason why someone may not feel ready or willing to enter a new relationship.

What To Do When You Like Someone But You Are Not Ready For Relationship

The safest thing to do when you like someone but you are not ready for a relationship with them is to protect them from you. You want to make them know your intentions and make them aware of what you want from them.

You don’t necessarily have to say it out loud before you communicate your mind to the person. By being plain and not actively trying to hide your intentions, the other person would know what you want from him or her, and if they are okay with it, they would be open to just being close to you.

The easier way is to just go with the flow. Maintain a good friendship with him or her while you address the issues that are making you feel unready for a relationship with him or her. Sometimes, even when you think you don’t like the person enough, you may end up falling in love with them at a much later period.

It is absolutely important to know what you want from the person even when you don’t feel ready to be in a relationship with them. You need to ask yourself why you are attracted to this person and whether or not it is worth it if you simply get attached to them without any intent for a relationship.

When Someone Likes You But Not Ready For A Relationship

Here is the other side of the coin. Someone can show that they like you but also express that they are not ready for a relationship. They may verbally let you know their unreadiness, or you may pick up the cues on your own. Whatever the case, it can get confusing if you don’t know the reasons behind those feelings.

The same reasons why you may not be ready for a relationship with someone you like [as discussed above] may also apply to someone else who likes you but is not ready for a relationship.

Just to recap;

1. The person may not see everything they want in you.
2. The person may be dealing with hurt from a past heartbreak.
3. He/she may be very invested in their career or education.
4. Fear of commitment or marriage.

But unlike the case when you are the one who is not ready for the relationship, the approach takes a different turn when it is the other person who is not ready for the relationship as you will see.

What To Do When Someone Who Likes You Is Not Ready For A Relationship

Once you have established that the person is not ready for a relationship, or not with you, the first thing you have to do is to accept it. Thereafter, try to understand what the person truly wants from you to see if it is something you can grant them.

We will now see more of these in this section.

1. Accept it

Again, when someone who likes you does not seem ready for a relationship, you need to accept it and respect their desire. This enables you to take the right actions rather than spending too much time and effort trying to get yourself or the person to be interested in the relationship.

2. Understand their intents

You can try to understand what the person wants from you and why they are showing their interest in you even when they are giving mixed signals about their readiness for a relationship. If it is hard to figure out the person’s intent by yourself, there is nothing wrong with asking them for the reasons they want to be close to you.

3. Define your needs

You may not be comfortable being just friends with someone who might like you but is not ready for a relationship with you. If you feel you don’t want to be very close to such a person, it is okay to politely cut off any chances of being unexpectedly close to them.

4. Set boundaries

You never can tell why someone who is not ready for a relationship likes you. It could be because of something they want from you. However, if you are not in agreement with what they want from you, ensure you set clear boundaries whenever you are with a person who likes you but is not ready for a relationship.

Final words

I believe I have dealt with all you need to know about why you or someone who likes you may not be ready for a relationship and what you can do in either case. It is natural to meet people who like you but are not ready for a relationship, but when that happens, the above tips will help you know what to do.

If you are the one having those mixed feelings, you need to look deep into yourself concerning the reasons why you are not ready for a relationship and gradually address them. Whatever the case is, you have to accept that it is perfectly normal for someone to like you but not ready for a relationship with you, and vice-versa.