Everywhere you go, all you see are couples who seem deliriously in love.

The way they look at each other as they walk into a movie theater together, walking hand in hand; walk through the hallway of a mall or shopping center; sit down to have a meal at a restaurant, etc.—it all looks like perfect bliss.

You see them as you are out and about hanging out with friends, family, co-workers, etc.

It isn’t missed on you.

You see it even more when you aren’t hanging out with the people you are close to.

When you are out and about alone, seeing these couples so seemingly in love hits you that much harder.

This is usually when you are no longer capable of not thinking about how you don’t have that love in your life.

Inevitably, you question yourself and your value.

You start thinking that there must be something wrong with you.

Even though you have been repeatedly told by family and friends that you are beautiful and awesome as a person, it doesn’t ever seem to change the reality that you have never had the real love that all these other couples seem to have.

No relationship you have had in the past has had anything remotely close to real love.

These were short-term relationships that were filled with toxicity.

Sadly, in retrospect, there was no real love in those relationships.

You were misled and tricked into opening up your heart to a person who would take advantage of it.

Every incident in which you were a victim of this made you feel that much less of a person.

Questions would abound in your mind about whether you are at all worthy of real love.

After a fair share of short-lived and toxic relationships, the feeling you aren’t worthy of real love was further cemented.

Take comfort in knowing that you are indeed worthy of real love.

Every decent human being in the world is.

Nonetheless, there is work that has to be done on your mental disposition beforehand.

In other words, you must build a healthy sense of self-worth.

Without doing this, you are bound to attract the kind of men who take advantage of you.

These men are capable of picking up on someone who is desperate for real love, and they use that to get the person to give far more than they are in a relationship.

Developing a healthy mental disposition requires that you forgive previous toxic partners who selfishly took advantage of you, routinely get involved in interests and activities you love, and make friends with positive people you admire.

Doing this for a sustained period of time is certain to change your mindset and lifestyle into a healthier one.

This is when you are ready to date again.

Do your due diligence by finding potential partners in spaces that attract quality men.

These are positive spaces such as volunteer events; co-ed sports leagues such as volleyball, soccer, and softball; professional networking events; hobby classes such as cooking, dancing, and pottery; and technological or educational seminars.

Never forget what you have learned from the toxic men you have dated in the past.

Avoid men who exhibit the same characteristics as those men.

With a healthy mindset and a shrewd understanding of who is worthy of your heart and who isn’t, you are bound to find real love with the right man.