Difference Between Loving Someone and Being in Love

It’s quite challenging to tell the difference between loving someone and being in love. Most times, we loosely use the word “love.” Perhaps that’s the reason people mix loving someone with being in love. In the real sense, the two terms love vs in love means two different things. So, in this article, I’m going to share with you what it means to love vs in love with someone.

Most people we see in relationships these days are in love with each other. They hardly love themselves. I know it isn’t very clear, keep reading you will understand what they both mean.

Loving someone is usually stemmed from infatuation, possessiveness, and obsession. And you always hold hands, talk, hug, kisses, public display of affections, and develop surface feelings.

Again, when you love someone, you always feel alone when he or she isn’t around you. Most times, you crave for your partner to always be with you. So, when you are experiencing any of these in your relationship, it’s apparent that you love your partner but not in love with them.

But when you are in love with someone, it goes beyond their physical presence. All you care about is to see them grow, look beyond their flaws, you encourage, inspire, and motivate one another to achieve your life’s goal.

In a nutshell, Being in love with someone is the perfect definition of true love. It requires 100 percent commitment on your part. Sadly, if your partner doesn’t understand the difference between love vs in love, the relationship may be one-sided.

Without much ado, here are 7 differences between loving someone and being in love…

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#1. Loving Someone is a Choice Being in Love Isn’t

The first thing you should know about Love Vs in love is that the former is a choice and the latter isn’t. What this means is that you can decide to love someone, appreciate them for who they are, see their best qualities, and possibly be a supportive partner.

Like I said, loving someone is a choice you make. And you can decide to stop loving someone and forget about them. You see, loving someone is a choice you make.

But being in love is never a choice. It’s something that you don’t have control over. It happens without your intention, and you can’t walk away from it as you see it fit. Even if you decide to leave, you are leaving with the feeling of being in love.

#2. When You Are In Love, You Put Your Partner First, But When You Love Your Partner You Want Them To Grow Well

We all want the person we love to do well in life. But the question is – are you really to make the sacrifices that will make your partner’s successful? This is another area to look at the difference between love vs in love.

When you love someone, you want that person to grow and be outstanding. You may not be willing to go the extra mile to make this happen. But you genuinely want them to succeed.

However, when you and your partner are in love, you guys always put each other’s needs first. Do you know why? It’s because of your happiness, and that of your partner is interlinked. Whenever you are willing to put your partner’s needs above yours, it’s apparent that you are in love with them.

Furthermore, you tend to achieve more in your relationship when you and your partner put each other’s needs first instead of just fending for yourself.

#3. Loving Someone is More of Fleeting While Being in Love is Forever

When you love someone, it can end at any moment. Yes, it’s the truth. And this is because you can’t see beyond their flaws and shortcomings. You expect them to be perfect, and once they shortfall of such expectations, boom! You don’t love them anymore.

However, when you are in love with someone, it isn’t momentarily. It’s forever. Even though you end up not being with that person, you still have undying feelings for them. You can always make endless sacrifices to make them happy.

When you are in love with someone, the feelings never diminish. Instead, it increases as the day goes by. It doesn’t matter whether you fight or argue every day, in the end, the relationship will always survive the tides of misunderstanding and achieve calm.

When you love someone, the relationship may be boring after your honeymoon phase, and you may start losing interest in your partner. However, when you are in love, you are always happy with your partner because every day seems like a honeymoon to you guys. Even if the relationship becomes more of a routine thing, you guys will still be happy.

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#4. When You Love Someone, You Always Need Them Around But When In Love It’s a Different Game

This is another area where love vs in love are different. When you are in love with someone, you tend to be obsessive about that person. At all times, you want them around you, you crave for them, and want them to be with you more than anything.

However, when you are in love, you care about the happiness of your partner more than yours. That means, if staying away from you will give them a happy and balanced life, you wouldn’t have a problem with that.

#5. While Being in Love is a Steady Stream of Emotion, Loving Someone is a Rush

Loving someone is spontaneous, intense, and happens in a rush. However, being in love takes a while, and when it happens, it gives you steady and lasting emotions.

#6. While Loving Someone is How They Make You Feel, Being in Love is How You Make Them Feel

This is another crucial area we shouldn’t neglect when analyzing the difference between love vs in love. When you love someone, it’s more about how they make you feel. But when you are in love, it’s more about how you make them feel.

“Why do you love him? He makes me feel like I’m the only one in the world”… Does that statement sound familiar? Of course, it means the lady in question loves the guy, but she isn’t in love with him. Because his love for him is directly proportional to how he makes her feel. Hope you understand?

If you only care about how your partner makes you feel, you are not in love with them. In a nutshell, loving someone means you are only concerned about how they make you feel loved, unique, and appreciated.

But being in love isn’t all about you. You always look for a way to make him feel loved because it’s important to you. Trust me; if you don’t love your partner more than you love yourself, you are not in love with them. It’s a fact most people don’t know.

#7. Loving Someone Is About Ownership, Being in Love is a Partnership

It takes two to tangle, that’s the definition of being in love. Yes, it’s all about partnership, not ownership. When you are in love, you see each other as a team because you give yourself as much as you get.

You see, love vs in love are two different terms. I hope you understand what both means, and you can tell if you love Vs in love with someone.