One of the hardest parts about liking someone isn’t the feelings that you have for the person, but rather not knowing how to tell them. A good friend of mine decided that it was time to tell the truth, meaning, tell that one person how she felt about him. The only problem is that now he’s back with the same girl he was with months prior. I looked at the picture of these two and thought to myself “she looks like a fake.” I probably shouldn’t have said that, but it was the first thought that came to my head. Then I went back to my friend. It’s disturbing to hold onto strong emotions and not have any idea how to express them. Sure she could date other people, but isn’t that the same as displaced dating? Carrying feelings for one person while holding onto feelings for another, most of us have been there. We date one person trying to get over from our emotions from another. Sure it looks like we’re succeeding in the beginning, but its stuffing. We stuff our feelings to take away the disappointment and the pain. I’ve found that every time that I stuffed, I hadn’t ever gotten over the person. Instead, I just found someone who had the same looks, job, or personality. The list could go on and on. Then I thought about it. Rather than constantly running from her feelings. Maybe, just maybe, she should confront them. So I found these 40 ways to tell someone that you like them without actually saying it.

1. Touch your face and hair when you’re talking to them.
2. Touch them, casually, on the arm or knee when you’re talking to them.
3. Laugh at their jokes.
4. Touch their arm or knee when you laugh at their jokes.
5. Notice when their glass is empty, and always offer to fill it up or get them another.
6. Make eye contact from across the room at parties; smile.
7. If you get an inside joke going between just the two of you, bring it up as much as possible. Never let it die.
8. Say their name when you’re talking to them.
9. Give them a ridiculously huge tip.
10. Email them because you just saw something and it “made me think of you.”
11. Treat them to something sometime.
12. Make up a nickname for them. Be the only one who calls them that.
13. Invent any excuse for them to come over — a new movie, a sports game, a dinner party, and a home repair project you really need help with.
14. Be genuinely happy every time you see them — make no effort to hide it.
15. Loan them a book that you “just thought they would like.”
16. Make sure to get pictures of the two of you when you’re out together.
17. Handwrite a note on your business card when you give it to them. i.e. “Really good to meet you.”
18. Remember what their drink is without having to ask. Order it for them.
19. Don’t leave without saying goodbye.
20. That shirt/perfume/ring/pair of shoes they once mentioned they liked? Wear it. A lot.
21. Remember what you talked about the last time you saw each other, and ask them how things turned out the next time you see each other.
22. If they take your hand, squeeze it or run your thumb over their knuckles
23. Text them. Not just to make plans, but just because.
24. Dress up a little when you know you’re going to see them.
25. Bring up something little that you remember they once said to you.
26. Just talk to them about anything and whenever you get the chance.
27. Compliment them on something you think other people might notice about them.
28. Pass them a note during a meeting or at a crowded bar.
29. Always “randomly” have an extra ticket.
30. Ask their opinion on things.
31. “Like” their stuff on Facebook.
32. Text back right away.
33. Make friends with their friends.
34. Tell them, as off-handedly as you can, that they smell good today.
35. Send them a postcard when you’re away.
36. Give them your number, so you can take the conversation off email or social media.
37. Assume they want coffee and bring them one. Learn how they take it first.
38. Remember their birthday.
39. Find a reasonable excuse (birthday, promotion at work) and send them flowers.
40. Kiss them on the cheek and hug them goodbye, instead of just saying it.

One of these just has to work. I believe that if there is a will, then there has to be a way. Feelings shouldn’t be stuffed, but rather expressed. It’s just a matter of knowing how to do it. Someone once said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but actually it doesn’t, instead it says picture it, this is the perception that we want you to believe. Pictures don’t always show the truth about a relationship.