So, you find yourself having a crush. It makes you as crazy as it does happy. One moment you think all hope is lost, and then there's that one text message that means it's back on. You scheme and you plot (because we all do it) on how to play the game. 

You vent about hating the game, but we all know that if we were truly as forward as we'd like to be, it would seem far crazier than our hidden agendas.

So, we pretend and we over-analyze everything. Absolutely everything. From punctuation marks to the time it takes to respond, it all means something to us when, in all likelihood, it meant nothing at all.

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Instead of religiously following dating advice and seeking out love, here's why you should absolutely stop chasing your crush and focus on more important things in life..

1. Chasing someone that isn't pursuing you gets you nowhere except running circles around your own heart.

When you meet the right person, you won't need to run after them, because you'll both want to walk together the moment you see eye-to-eye. Your worlds will change and the only direction left to go will be forward. 

Otherwise, you wind up wasting time conspiring on how to make someone fall in love with you.

2. You start to forget about the people who aren't in your life just temporarily.

You miss out on treasured memories with your friends and family while trying to force forgettable memories with infatuation.

3. You offer your heart to someone who doesn't deserve you.

The one who does will woo you, court you and kill to be with you, because what would life be without you?

4. You waste your energy on something that's fleeting.

In its place, you should spend your time focusing on your date with destiny, rather than your date with the flavor of the week.

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5. You start to forget the things that were and are important to you.

You dreamed of something different and hoped for something better, but you're settling for 2 AM phone calls.

6. You make yourself insane.

That iPhone text bubble is your worst nightmare, as well as your best friend. You think you're playing the game, but they're just playing with your heart.

7. You're chasing a human being instead of just letting life happen.

Stop analyzing every drunken text message and let fate takeover. Let the real moment come that needs no explanation because it is the explanation.

8. Having a crush can be fun, but it can also be straight-up exhausting.

Every time your phone goes off, you're praying that it's them. When it is, you get that goofy look on your face that won't go away.

9. When it isn't, you sulk for an hour and read articles like this.

Then, when time goes on and there's no text and you were the last one to say something, it's literally torture to know you cannot/should not/society says do not send a second text to an unanswered one.

But you do anyway. It probably fails and you go back to sulking until they like your Instagram picture — then it's back on again.

The fact of the matter is, you shouldn't chase after someone's heart. You shouldn't have to chase a person. Stop chasing butterflies and start chasing your ambitions.

Chase your promotion. Chase your bucket list. Chase your dreams. Chase the sunrise. Chase your friends in flag football. Chase the spring. Chase the winter. Chase laughter. Chase the vodka with tonic. Chase memories.

Stop chasing love, and let love find you.

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Sonya Matejko is a writer whose work has been featured on a variety of high-profile platforms and niche blogs. She writes about the dating world as well as traveling the world.

This article was originally published at The Huffington Post. Reprinted with permission from the author.