Liking and loving someone are two different things. They may seem the same but the problem is how to differentiate the two. People often mistake liking someone for love. Liking someone is usually a milder feeling. Love, however, is a deeper emotion that is more about acceptance and a deeper bond. You like the person you love as a whole individual but you may not necessarily love the person you like.
What Is the Difference Between Like and Love?
Liking someone can be instant attraction like a crush. Liking can also refer to things rather than people. For example, I like this cat, I like to play football or I like drinking coffee. Feelings like these tend to change with time.
Love is deeper, more meaningful and long-lasting. For parents, their love is in their children. Children show love for their parents and siblings. For some people, their friends are the embodiment of love. Finally, romantic love between two people is another dimension of this vast emotion called love. You cannot live without the person you love and seeing him or her makes you happy.
Knowing the difference between like and love is useful because it helps you realize your true love. So that when the time comes for you to meet someone you truly love, you will not be confused as to whether you like or love that person. You will clearly know your heart's desire and go for it. Liking allows you to be content in the moment while love makes you bold to reach out for the next step with your loved one.
What Are the Things That Differentiate Between Like and Love?
Liking and loving are similar yet different in so many ways. Both refer to interaction and attachment between two people. You want each other's company. However, when you like someone, you usually like something specific about that person. It can be his or her physical appearance, wealth, intelligence, or humor. While love is unconditional and you love a person for who they are and not because of something they possess.
1. Self-conscious vs. true self
When you like someone, you want to portray your best side. You behave in a specific manner and hide your faults. You become self-conscious in front of that person. You often do things you have never done before and pretend to like things you have never liked. You keep worrying if that person will like you or not. What else should you do to make them like you?
Love is the opposite of that. You want to be yourself with that person. You love and accept them with all their strengths and weaknesses and expect them to do the same for you. You do not want to lie or deceive when you are truly in love.
2. Thrill vs. happiness
One of the differences between love and like is that when you like a person, you are thrilled to be with them. You feel butterflies in your stomach when you are in their company. The thrill of it makes you want to be close to that person. But be careful and do not mistake lust for love.
When you love a person, it makes you happy to be with him or her. You are simply content in their company. You do not care about other things. Physical intimacy is not your main goal when you love someone with all your heart. Every moment counts when you are with someone you love.
3. Admiration vs. intense feelings
When we talk about like vs. love, likeness can be admiring the other person. Admiring someone's personality, beauty or charm, wealth or admiring a particular quality. It is a mild feeling and it can fade over time.
Love is more intense than just liking someone. You love everything about that person. You have a strong desire to make them happy. Every person experiences love differently but the intensity and vastness of their love cannot be described in words. It's the depth of love that makes a stark contrast with simply liking someone.
4. Instant vs. slow process
Liking someone is usually instant. A particular quality of that person strikes you on the spot. Often it is mistaken as love at first sight. If you like someone because of something superficial such as physical appearance or qualification, then it's not deep and lasting because developing love is a slow process. You slowly realize the other person's qualities and weaknesses. Yet you still chose to be with him or her. That is worthy of being called love. This is also a key difference between like and love.
5. Flawed or flawless?
If you like someone, you want perfection. A single flaw can scare you away. You cannot tolerate what you do not like. If that person does not have what you liked about him/her anymore, it turns you off, making you turn your back to that person.
However, love is unconditional. When you love someone, you accept them wholeheartedly as an individual. You are not blind to their faults, but they don't matter because your loved one matters to you more than anything else in the world.
6. Fades or grows?
When you like someone, the more you get to know that person, the more his/her charm depletes. Since the thrill of knowing and liking the person wears off, you start to lose interest and distance yourself. In the end, you even break up because you do not like the person anymore. It also fades when you are distanced from each other for some time.
When you love someone, it grows inch by inch every day. The closer you are, the fonder you get. A time comes when you cannot bear to part with that person. When your loved one is not around, you yearn for him/her. "Absence makes the heart fonder". And when you are with your love, you want to spend a lot of quality time together.
7. Present moment vs. the future
Liking someone allows you to enjoy the moment. You even start dreaming and fantasizing about them. The excitement of being with someone you like only lasts for the present moment or a short period of time. This dreamy feeling isn't real and long-lasting. Don't confuse it with love or you'll end up with a person you don't love.
Loving someone makes you look forward to life. You plan for a future. You plan and wish for a meaningful relationship, home and spending the rest of your life with your loved one. You want to live through blessings and misfortune hand in hand with that person. You become practical and level headed and work hard to make your dream come true.
8. Hurt vs. heartache
Another difference between like and love is that if the other person hurts you, it is not too difficult to move on, even if you feel betrayed or lost. Eventually, you will get on with your life and move on. Probably find someone who will love you and will not leave you.
If someone you deeply love hurts you, the hardest thing to do is to forget that person and move on. If his/her love is embedded deep in your bones, it will be as if a part of you is gone, leaving you empty inside. It will be like a thousand needles pricking your heart. The pain is immense and unbearable. However, if someone says something bad about them, you will still defend them because love makes you soft inside.
Like or Love?
In order to sort out your true feelings for someone, look deep inside your heart, let the initial excitement cool down, and then decide whether you simply like someone or you love them with all your heart. There is nothing wrong with liking someone but you must know the difference between like and love. Liking someone is simply admiring them for some qualities but when you love someone, you are ready to take the plunge for them despite all odds. It gives you the courage and strength to take off all the masks and be who you are. You are not even afraid of rejection because then you know that love is not about possession, it is about acceptance. Love is truly the most powerful feeling in the world.