Member-only story
You can’t love someone into loving you
No matter how deeply you care for someone, you can’t make them love you back.
When your heart is set on someone who doesn’t feel the same, it can feel as if every effort to get closer only pushes them further away.
This realisation can be painful, a weight that sits heavy on your chest as you come to terms with the fact that love cannot be one-sided if it’s meant to be real and fulfilling.
When you’re in love, it’s natural to go out of your way to make that person happy.
You might invest time, thought, and energy into doing things for them, hoping that one day they’ll realise your worth.
Yet, as much as we wish it worked like that, love isn’t transactional.
Love should never be something we chase. It should be mutual, between two people willingly to open their hearts fully to one another.
No amount of convincing can create that kind of connection.
Trying to will someone into feeling something they don’t can leave you feeling rejected and even resentful.
This isn’t because of anything lacking in you but simply because they weren’t ready or able to love you back in the way you need.
