If a guy recently said that he wants to focus on himself then you might be wondering why and what it means about the way that he feels about you.

This post will show you a number of reasons why he might have said that he wants to focus on himself and why other guys might say the same in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy wants to focus on himself? It would likely mean he is not interested in you especially if he shows distancing body language around you. It could also be the case that he is not looking for a girlfriend right now, he was annoyed with you at the time or it could be a sign that he likes someone else.

There are actually a number of reasons why a guy might say that he wants to focus on himself and there are a number of things to consider when trying to figure out why.

Why a guy will say he wants to focus on himself

Each of the different reasons why a guy will say that he wants to focus on himself will likely come with a number of clues in the way that he says it and in the body language he shows.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy will say that he wants to focus on himself, the signs to look for and the things to consider.

He is not interested in you

It could be the case that he said he wants to focus on himself because he is not interested in you.

This would be more likely if he said it when you asked him out. However, If he said it more generally when you were with other people and you didn’t ask him out then it might be the case that he meant it for someone else or that he didn’t want to show that he wanted a girlfriend.

If he isn’t interested in you then he might show signs of distancing behavior in his body language when he is around you by doing things such as:

  • Avoiding eye contact
  • Facing away from you
  • Standing further away from you than he does with other people
  • Only smiling at the mouth
  • Avoiding asking you questions

He is not looking for a girlfriend

The reason that he said that he wants to focus on himself could be that he isn’t looking for a girlfriend right now. This could be because he is planning on going to university soon, he wants more time to focus on his studies or he might be planning on moving away.

If this is the case then it would be likely that he would also say it to other girls as well and that he would show similar body language around them as he does with you. It could also be the case that he is actually attracted to you. If he is then he would likely show signs of attraction around you (mentioned below) that he doesn’t around other people.

He is annoyed with you

It could be the case that he said it because he was annoyed with you at the time.

This would be more likely if he said it after something happened that would cause him to have been annoyed with you in some way.

It would also be more likely if he did things such as:

  • Squint at you
  • Face away from you
  • Avoid eye contact
  • Give you short answers
  • Pointing his feet away from you
  • Crossing his arms if he doesn’t normally

If he was annoyed with you, at the time, then it could actually be the case that he is attracted to you. If he is then it would be likely that he would show signs of being attracted to you when he is around you such as:

  • Adjusting his appearance when he sees you
  • Glancing at you a lot
  • Standing closer to you than he does with other people
  • Pointing his feet at you (people will often point their feet at people that they are attracted to)
  • Holding prolonged eye contact with you
  • Watching you when you are with other guys
  • Getting defensive when other guys are with you both
  • Having dilated pupils when looking at you (people’s pupils will often become more dilated when looking at someone that they are attracted to)

There are more signs of attraction that he might show around you and I have written about more of them in this blog post.

He is interested in someone else

He might have said it because he is interested in someone else or because he is seeing someone else.

This would be more likely if he used to show more interest in you but he suddenly stopped.

Consider how he reacts to seeing you

When trying to figure out how he feels about you it would help to consider the way that he reacts to seeing you.

If he noticeably changes his body language, when he notices you, then it would make it more likely that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you.

If he reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:

  • Adjust his appearance
  • Hold eye contact with you
  • Move closer to you
  • Adjust his posture
  • Face towards you (especially with his feet)

Then it would make it more likely that he is attracted to you.

Whereas, if he reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:

  • Squinting
  • Only smiling at the mouth
  • Facing away from you
  • Distancing himself from you
  • Avoiding eye contact

Then it would be more likely that he has negative feelings towards you.

Consider how he interacts with other people

It would also help to compare the way that he interacts with you with how he interacts with other people.

If he shows the same body language around you as he does with other people then it would make it more likely that he said it because he really is not looking for a girlfriend right not.

Whereas, if he does show different body language around you then it would make it more likely that he said it for one of the other reasons mentioned above. It would help to consider the way that he changes his body language around you.

Consider multiple body language signs

When considering what his body language might be showing it would help to consider multiple aspects of it at the same time.

The reason being that a single body language sign can have many different meanings. This can make it difficult to accurately understand a single body language sign.

Whereas, if someone shows multiple body language signs that all suggest the same thing then it would make it more likely that they are showing them for that specific reason.

If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.

Author

I created and currently manage Body Language Central, one of the premier sources for body language-related knowledge. Body language plays a key role in our daily lives. I hope that my website can help condense the wide amount of body language information available and allow you to make full use of it in your daily life. You can read more about me and my website here.