How To Stay Away from Your Ex Even If You Don't Really Want To Stay Away

Is it really possible to stay away from your ex after the breakup? All the books/blogs I read on breakup advice, the common answer seems to be,  "stay away from your ex and cut off all contact to detach yourself from the emotional connection with your ex." Initially, I really struggled trying my best not to have any contact with my ex. Gradually, I realized that it's something I have to do so I can start moving on from my breakup. However, a huge part of me still cares so much about knowing where he is, what he is doing, does he miss me too etc. The worse part is, I want him to continue to contact me if he needed or wanted to.While I hate to admit it, I don't want to stay away from my ex. I am still hoping that by keeping my doors open, my ex will realize that he wants to get back together with me after he has some space to workout his issues.You tend to think that if you stay away from your ex, your ex will forget about you and move on to find someone new. Sounds familiar? It's just that you care so much about your ex and would do anything to see him or her, well and happy. Perhaps, they are happy and doing rather well.What took me time to realize was that I should put some effort into making myself happy too. It's up to your ex to decide where to go from here. Ideally, you shouldn't have to draw a map out for your ex and hope he or she comes back to you.