It’s tempting to think that your boyfriend is edging towards proposing to you in asking for your ring size.

His request was out of nowhere.

The conversation you were having with him had nothing to do with marriage.

You were taken aback and stumped on what to say for a few seconds.

He didn’t dwell on the topic, but it left an impression.

Long since that conversation, you have struggled to stop replaying it in your mind.

Being asked for your ring size has left you reeling mentally.

The butterflies you are feeling within clearly elicit how you feel about your boyfriend and his potential.

He is husband material.

If you didn’t believe he was, your mind wouldn’t be this preoccupied with this.

Practice restraint.

Though there is good reason to believe he is looking at you as a potential wife in the foreseeable future, this is not your ticket to get ahead of yourself.

It’s tempting to fall into the mindset that a marriage proposal is imminent.

The danger of falling into this mindset is in how it affects your behavior from here on out.

In a few days, you are spending an evening with him at home and you say something in reference to marriage.

It might be a reference about a family member, friend or work colleague, who recently informed you about their upcoming nuptials.

Mentioning it to him wasn’t preplanned.

It so happen to come out of your mouth as you were watching a TV show with him or cooking dinner.

He goes along with it for a little bit, but the conversation doesn’t go much further than a few phrases.

A week later, the topic of marriage is subtly brought up again.

You so happen to be out for dinner with him at a restaurant and looking at your smartphone.

A friend, family member or work colleague sends you a picture of the wedding dresses she is looking to wear for her upcoming nuptials.

Instead of keeping it to yourself, you lean over to your boyfriend and show him the pictures.

Unconsciously, you make him a part of the conversation when it had nothing to do with him.

You involve him in choosing a wedding dress for your friend, of whom he has never met in person or has only met a handful of times, but isn’t a personal friend to.

Being a good boyfriend, he plays along and picks out a wedding dress.

A few days after this restaurant dinner, you are talking to him on the phone while on lunch break at work and unconsciously, you send him a humorous meme about marriage.

An image and text that is supposed to make the recipient laugh.

He does.

But, again, this came out of nowhere.

You have never sent him memes on marriage.

The behavior you have been exhibiting in the last few weeks was triggered by that one moment when he asked you for your ring size.

Your excitement over the prospect of receiving a marriage proposal from him in the foreseeable future inspired you to bring marriage up as a topic or focal point of conversation without prompting.

Men pick up on this behavior, and it is unnerving.

Men want to come to the decision of marriage on their own.

This is how they know this is a woman they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

When it feels like a girlfriend is constantly throwing hints at him that she is looking for a marriage proposal soon, it rattles him.

He worries that he is being pressured and this never feels good.

Just a few weeks ago, he asked for your ring size, contemplating what a life with you as his wife looked like and warming up to the idea.

Since then, the subtle, yet obvious introductions of marriage-related topics to him has given him pause.

Whatever excitement he experienced considering the prospect of making you his wife in the foreseeable future has been replaced with anxiety and the stifling weight of pressure.

This is the last thing you want.

It delays any marriage proposal that was coming, or kills it altogether.

Yes, every fiber in your being is excited about the prospect of marrying him, but you mustn’t let this emotion get the better of you.

Let it go.

Don’t mention that conversation to anyone else either.

The moment you tell friends, family, and colleagues that he asked about your ring size is the moment you have invited an endless deluge of questions about it.

Inevitably, these outside parties influence your thoughts and you are acting in line with that influence, subtly bringing up marriage-related topics to your boyfriend, even when he is enjoying a game of football on a Sunday night.

That’s a big no-no.

Don’t mention that conversation to anyone and don’t bring it up to your boyfriend in future conversations either.

The quickest and most assured path to getting this guy to put a ring on your finger is to give him the freedom to get there on his own.

Clearly, in asking for your ring size, he is on that path.

Leave him to it, without imposing your will on him.

One fateful day, your restraint pays off, as he surprises with a marriage proposal over a romantic dinner or while on an exotic vacation.