What to do if I feel attracted to someone that is not interested in me?

Pretty straightforward, huh?

Well, to be honest, it is a question that has been on my mind for a while based on recent events that I came across with: You find someone that's nice, fun to be with, positive and that gives you a feeling that you can confide things to her/him. But you don't feel the person in question is also interested in you...

You'd normally hear this type questioning from someone who is less than a quarter of a century old because of the lack of experience. It is peculiar to find someone older than that asking that same question (you do find them, though). But for the purposes of this post, let's assume this is something that all ages go through. So, yeah, rated 'E' for everyone.

Let's get to the point: How to answer that question?

To begin with, if there's someone that you feel attracted to and that person is not interested in you, it may very well be because you both don't know each other enough. Simple as that. And nobody can love what they don't know.

As human beings, we tend to dream and imagine our life with the person that we like. I think it's normal (and even more so in women), but there comes a moment in which we must put our feet on the ground and reconnect with reality. We need to be objective and see who that person is in reality. We need to, above all, discover if that person truly responds to our innermost yearnings.

And that is not to say that it is a bad thing to build up one's hope with someone. It is part of our learning experience. But, again, we must be grounded to reality; that is to say, to always objectively look if you're attracted to that person purely based on a physical level or because of something more profound. Pay close attention to see if the qualities that you see in that person are real, or simply imaginary and you attribute them because you like her/him (effectively creating an illusion). 

Know yourself so that you can ascertain what is it that you're looking for! Do not be led by first impressions: Know well that person so that you may not 'fall in love' with someone that is just the fruit of your fantasies! Reflect upon if that person is who you're looking for, because in many cases we tend to convert them in 'the ideal person' for us just because we like that person or because we get excited from the way they make us feel.

If you want to have a healthy relationship with someone, I do believe that you must get to know the person before she/he become your girlfriend/boyfriend. That crush that you may feel, that infatuation period that you may be going through, is a process. And an important part of that process is friendship. One should not skip that part! To know that person, and even more so to become her/his friend, will definitely make a more solid and lasting relationship

So, cheer up and try to get to know that person before anything else and see what happens. Don't give too much attention to that attraction that you may feel for her/him, since it may very well be that you are just feeling hopeful about someone that might not be the one for you. Don't distress. Don't anguish. Don't feed that infatuation thinking the whole day about that person, thinking how good she/he is, how ideal she/he would be for you. Don't torture yourself, and have patience.

Now, if that person after getting to know you, is still not interested, don't be saddened. The right person will definitely be interested. Work in getting to know yourself better. Learn to wait for the person that God has in plan for you, whether or not she/he might be the one for you. And never (ever!) stop praying for that person! Faith and prayer are powerful and they can influence history. The prayers for the one that will be your spouse (if that is your vocation) will always be heard.

And finally, always be authentic so that the person whom the Lord has thought out for you since eternity may be able to recognize you.

Animo! Aleja el temor!

Addendum:

Based on a comment regarding how 'awful' it is to stay in the 'friend-zone', I just wanted to point out this nice V-Sauce video that talks about 'The science of the Friend-zone'. But in general, being in the friend-zone is not necessarily a bad zone. And as always, Thanks for reading!