Do you love your partner or are you in love? What’s the difference between the two? We’re looking at 5 differences most people don’t recognize.
It is surely a question for the ages. Not knowing the difference
between loving someone and being in love can cause a lot of heartache
for both of you.
In order to be in a happy, healthy relationship with another person,
you really do need to have a clear, in-depth understanding of yourself
and your feelings. A lack of self-awareness can totally cripple your
ability to create a solid connection with someone else.
Trying to create magic with a person you love is just as impossible
as forgetting about a person you are in love with. Being in love is what
makes us do stupid things and forget about all the things we used to
care about. Loving someone is what pushes us through all the struggles
that come with a relationship. While being in love is a rush, loving
someone is all about feelings of loyalty that make you stick together
through thick and thin.
Love vs. in love: how do you see the difference?
Here are five signs that that will tell you the difference between “love” and “in love.”
#1 Loving someone is a commitment. Being in love is compulsion. You
can love your grandmother. You can love apple pie. As much as you might
care for a nice sugar high or a hug from nana, it probably isn’t the
first thing that you think about in the morning. Even if you are a
lifelong chocoholic and tend to think about getting a hit of the sweet
stuff before noon, you can probably move on from it. If your health
depended on it, you could probably give up on sugar and eventually start
to crave sweet fruit in the morning.
Ultimately, many things we claim to love are a bit random, and it is
important to recognize all of the varying degrees of love. You can
choose to stop loving someone and ultimately move on if you aren’t
really in love with them. If you are in love, it’s a bit like being
drunk. You can’t just decide you don’t want to be drunk anymore. You are
under a spell that has totally taken over your mind. The heady feeling
of being in love is unlike anything else in the world.
#2 Someone you love is a priority. Someone you are in love with is your top priority. When
you love someone, you want only the best for them. You always hope that
things go well for them in life. You are always ready to help them with
anything that they might need. When you are in love with someone, they
are the top priority. You are always ready to do anything that you can
to help them. Whether that means giving them the last slice of pizza, or
giving them a kidney, you are always ready to do absolutely anything
within your power to make their life better.
So, what’s the difference between love and in love? When you are in
love with someone, their needs suddenly become more important than your
own. All of those natural, selfish instincts are suddenly replaced when
you are in love. There are a lot of things that we would do for love.
We’d certainly spend a couple of hours of our time to see a movie that
we love. We would spend an afternoon helping a beloved friend move up to
a 5th floor apartment. There is a limit to love, but when it comes to
being in love, all logic goes out the window and we are ready to do
anything.
#3 When you love someone, you accept their flaws. When you are in love with someone, they are flawless. Being
in love makes you blind. It is impossible to see all of the flaws in
the object of your affection. While they might hit you later on, you
just can’t see them when you are in love. You might know that he is a
bit lazy or she is a bit selfish, but it just doesn’t matter when you
are in love. It is all just part of your lover’s charm.
On the other hand, when you love someone, you can see their flaws
loud and clear. You know your partner’s flaws and they irritate the hell
out of you! But… it’s okay. You know everything that irritates you
about your lover, but it isn’t enough to push you out the door. You
accept their flaws because you love them. If you are wondering what the
difference between love and in love is, ask yourself how much your
partner’s flaws really bother you and try to imagine how much they will
bother you in the distant future.
#4 Being in love is senseless and a bit random. Love is predictable and logical. We
love our families because they are related to us. Most people love
their families and, unless something has gone seriously wrong that has
cut off the relationship, it is safe to assume that most of us would say
we love our families. It is logical and predictable.
Likewise, we love our friends because they are supportive and fun. We
love our pets because they are loyal. We love our favorite sweets
because they leave us feeling good. Ultimately, it is quite easy to see
the cause and effect relationship in relation to most of the things that
we love. When you ask yourself what the difference between love and in
love is, think about this cause and effect relationship. Do you love
this person because of something that happened, or because they are
simply the most amazing person you can imagine?
Falling in love is totally random. It was about the way the sun hit
her hair, or the fact that he showed up at just the right moment. We
never really know who we are going to fall in love with and that is all
part of the magic.
#5 You can leave love. Being in love is irreplaceable. If
you love someone, you can accept when they are better off with you.
While you might be inflated and not want to go, if the relationship
isn’t right for you, you can move on from someone you love.
When you are in love, the idea of leaving kills you. It is impossible
to imagine having a life worth living if you have to be apart from your
loved one.
So, what is the difference between “love” and “in love”? Only you can
really say for sure. Everybody experiences things a little bit
differently. You can look for signs to decide if you love someone or are
really in love, but only your gut can tell you for sure.
If you want to have a happy and healthy relationship, trust
your instincts. If you are happy in your relationship, don’t go
searching for a fairy tale because you feel like you could be more in
love with someone else. If your relationship has been without a spark
for way too long, it is time to think about what you are really looking
for.