1. Don’t worry about going overboard with impressing us.
It’s the simple things in life we have the most fun with. The easiest way to our heart is just doing things like walking around a city exploring, going on long drives in the country on the weekend, a trip to the bookstore, conversations that last long into the night.
We value seemingly simplistic gestures over anything else because it’s in those moments where we feel we truly connect with someone.
by Koty Neelis
2. We spend a lot of time in our heads.
Like, A LOT of time. Old souls create rich inner lives and it’s within ourselves where we truly flourish. When you find us lost in thought or daydreaming don’t be afraid to pull us back into the real world.
3. Don’t expect us to ever care that much about material possessions or gaining wealth or status.
To old souls, none of those things really matter. We don’t really care about how much money our partner makes or living the typical modern lifestyle with an emphasis on materialistic things.
4. Sometimes we’ll prefer hanging out by ourselves to hanging out with you.
We need a lot of alone time to reflect and decompress from whatever’s going on in our lives, and we just need the person we’re dating to understand that, rather than feel rejected or upset.
5. We hold unconventional ideas about life and standards of living.
We see the world and our life on a much larger scale and because of that, our philosophical views can impact our relationships and the way we interpret the things that happen in our lives.
6. We tend to have an easy-going and carefree nature about us but sometimes it can seem like we don’t care or like significantly hard moments aren’t as hard on us as they are for others.
It’s not that we don’t care, or we aren’t impacted on the same levels, but we see each struggle in life as a moment to learn from and make us stronger.
7. Our dreams and plans for our lives can at times seem too large for where we’re currently in our life.
Part of seeing the world and our life on a larger scale is that we can often visualize where we’re going to be years from now, and even if something won’t happen for quite a while, we know we’re taking the steps to get there.
To fall in love with an old soul is to fall in love with their dreams, their passion for life. Belittling our desires in life is the fastest way to ruin a romantic connection with us.
8. We don’t really have a lot of friends.
Tons and tons of acquaintances, yes, definitely, but we can probably only count our number of friends on one hand. An old soul is always a bit of a loner through life.
We feel like we just don’t fit in with the rest of the world and our self-awareness about ourselves can sometimes inhibit us from making other friendships.
9. If we say we “have a feeling” about something, just go with it.
Seriously. We often get gut instincts about people and situations. We know sometimes it may seem illogical but we’ve learned to hone in on our intuition, and it’s rarely ever wrong.
10. For us to really stay in a relationship we need a deep connection with our partner – something that goes beyond the surface level of lust, attraction, and surface similarities.
We need someone who is a freethinker and who has similar philosophical ideas about life.
11. We have a lot of paradoxical traits.
On the one hand, we value stability, but on the other hand, we also require a lot of freedom in our lives and in our relationships. A relationship where we can have a bit of both is where we can really thrive.
12. We seek comfortable, cozy experiences.
We’re more apt to want to spend a night in making dinner, watching a movie, or listening to music together as opposed to going out to a club or bar.
We’ll join you if you really want us to go with you, of course, but just know for us – comfort is key.
13. Old souls have a very romantic view of the world and our relationships, which is great, except when we idealize things too much and become let down by our own expectations.
Our partner can help us out with this by helping us stay grounded and reminding us of the realities of life if we become a bit too in our heads about something.
14. We have a tendency to be overthinkers.
We’re highly analytical and we’re always noticing the things other people seem to skip over.
Sometimes this causes our brains to go into overdrive. This is great when you want to get the scoop on a situation or person, but because of our analytical nature, it can sometimes be kind of annoying when we’re in a state of overthinking something.
15. The person we date needs to have their own desires and dreams of their own.
Old souls are looking for the kind of person who thinks for themselves and are fearless in the way they make their decisions and live their life. They have to have their own innate desire to better themselves and not just follow a path someone else has paved or told them to go down.
16. Communication is one of the greatest forms of intimacy to us.
We want to hear about your childhood, your bad day at work, the diner you go to every weekend 3 blocks out of your way because they have the best coffee and eggs, the time you broke your arm playing baseball, your plans for the weekend.
Old souls are very cerebral people. Hearing about your history, learning about the way you look at life, and how you understand the world around you based on your past experiences, is exactly what helps us to better connect with the person we’re dating.
Don’t ever think any story is too boring or unimportant. We want to hear it all.
17. We might not be seeking a life-long partnership but we still need our romantic experiences to have a deeper meaning.
We understand that people are not always meant to be with us forever – a lesson we’ve learned far too many times – but we still seek a connection that goes beyond the surface level.
We want real passion, dedication, a romance we’ll always look back on fondly.