1. You’ve been chasing him for a while — and nothing has changed. If he’s still sending you mixed signals, if he’s still leading you on, if he’s still not committing to you, then you’re probably wasting your time with him. You might feel like you’ve already invested this much time into him, so you might as well wait a little longer, but that’s not the best idea. You don’t want to miss out on someone great because you’re too busy focusing on someone who is never going to rise to your expectations.

2. He’s made it clear he isn’t interested. If he’s actually sat you down and told you that he doesn’t have feelings for you, that he doesn’t want to ruin your friendship, or that he’s not ready for a relationship right now, then you shouldn’t assume he’s lying. You shouldn’t hold out hope that he’ll change his mind, either. There are plenty of people who are going to jump at the chance to date you. You don’t have to try hard to prove your worth to someone who simply isn’t interested. You can’t change his mind. You can’t make him love you. Respect his decision and move on.

3. He’s in a completely different stage in his life. If you want a serious relationship and he wants to play the field, give up on him. If he wants to get married in his forties and you want to get married much younger, give up on him. Your feelings aren’t enough to make a relationship work. You need to be on the same page about your futures. You need to agree on the big things in order to date. Otherwise, you’re bound to break up quickly anyway.

4. He has a girlfriend. It doesn’t matter if he’s sending you all the right signals. It doesn’t matter if he admits to enjoying time with you more than time with his own girlfriend. If he really wants to be with you, then he’ll break up with her. You don’t want to get in the middle of something messy. You don’t want to contribute to someone’s broken heart. If he’s serious about liking you, then he won’t stay with her for long anyway.

5. He treats the other women in his life terribly. Sure, you might be the exception. But if he has cheated on everyone he’s dated, if he doesn’t show respect for his female friends, if he acts like women are objects, then you don’t want to settle for him. He’s not good enough for you.

6. You can’t remember why you liked him in the first place. You need to ask yourself whether you actually like this person or are only obsessed with the idea of this person. Sometimes, you’ll like someone for such a long time that you can remember why you fell for them in the first place. If he’s been annoying you lately, if he’s been causing more drama than he’s worth, then you don’t need to continue chasing him. You can walk away. You can find someone new.