I have been single for so long and I am not content with someone that checks off 2 or three of my boxes of things they have to have...some friends say I am picky...but am I really?? I am very happy with being alone . I know who I am and what I want .. just because the men I have met don’t have their shit together should I really care?
Nope, if you know what you want. Why should any of us have to settle for less? I'm not sure anyone will be another's 100% right off the bat. But easier to build up from 60% than from 30%.
It sounds to me like you might be using these pre-defined criteria to help you feel better about not liking people you don't like.
If you met someone you really, really, really liked, would you still be looking at the list for a reason to hold back, or would you just go for it?
6 out of ten things is very Reasonable I believe ... we all have our strengths and weaknesses and I absolutely would look at check those boxes because in the end I am looking for a healthy relationship .
@Bheart2018 that's a very reasonable way to look at it. I'm not sure I've ever had a healthy relationship, so personally, I'm not sure what boxes I should be looking to fill.
I think I'd mostly be grasping at straws, and trying to figure out what was missing in previous relationships.
I'm almost certain that I don't know what things really make a relationship work or collapse.
I guess I just need more data... wink, wink
define "so long". Sometimes one persons so long is another person's tiny blip on a screen. I would say it just makes things a bit more difficult for you trying to find most or all of your preferred traits in one individual. And perhaps those 6 traits are absolute dealbreakers for ya, you are not willing to do without. Doens't make it wrong to be picky, just may be more of a challenge for you to find that right person.
Definitely!
Nothing wrong whatsoever. It is wrong not having any expectations or boundaries. Desperate people who take anybody end up downtrodden and abused.
This is so true! Self esteem has a huge part in it for sure!
There was a good study about what makes for lasting partnerships, and basically the study backed up all the myths about compatibility, and also all the myths about about differences. It backed up the ideas about spending time together, and also spending time apart. Because, the study found that the only thing that really mattered, was kindness. You can't have a check list for that. Outside of obvious hard limits like smoking (for some people) or way of life issues, I think you are right... you're never going to create the right list, and you're much more likely to find someone you get along with, by evaluating their "way they are". Which means work, in person. The list is just a vague screening tool.
No you are not wrong in knowing what you like and what don't like. We women are often given the task or at least the impression that men are 'fixable'. They are not. You either accept them or you don't. Only you can know which qualities are attractive and which are not. Physical attraction is one thing, mutual interests and values are quite another. You'll know when you find the right match...as you know when you've found the wrong one!
If you are happy alteady, there is nothign wrogn with being picky. after all lettign someone else into your life can mess up your happiness. Check off as many boxes as you want to prequalify potentials.
I myself have a few major boxes that have to be checked. He must be a nonsmoker and be free of addictions. He must be honest with me at all times and I want him to be physically attractive to me. I have yet to find soemoen who fits those three and has that extra spark that makes me want to spend time with him.
However, i am happy being single. I dont' feel I need anyone to "complete me". When you are alreayd content with who you are, then you are not looking for someone to make you happy, because yu are happy already. You are looking for someone who can enhance the happiness you are already experiencing.
Well put. Seek somebody to share your happiness...not to be your happiness or 'to fix' in a way that will (maybe) make you happy. I wrote down a quote that says this better than me: "Let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." (Source happens to be a Trappist Monk, of all people (!), Thomas Merton, 1915-1968 )
I married a man who was 3/3 on my wish list when I was 23. There are 8 non-negotiables on my list now, and I’m fine being single until I meet someone who hits 8/8.
I have dated some lovely men who I learned in time weren’t the best fit — and I wasn’t the best fit for them, either. The only way to determine that is to be open to the next promising person. Your last sentence implies you assume the worst upfront.
Well put my friend ! Thank you for the information!