A more uncomfortable truth about dating:
Sometimes, people confuse having options with having control over the outcome.
You can choose who you pursue, but you canāt choose who reciprocates. You can reject someone, but you canāt manufacture attraction from someone who doesnāt want you.
Dating isnāt a courtroom where one side always gets to āchooseā and the other simply accepts.
Both people have agency. The real power is being able to walk away from what you donāt genuinely want and being mature enough to accept when someone walks away from you.
People often confuse having options with having control.
In dating, neither side gets every person they want. You can choose whom you approach, pursue, accept, or reject but the other person still has a vote.
So perhaps the real game isnāt Who gets to choose?
Itās āWho is willing to choose wisely and accept that the other person gets to choose too? Case closed.