Find Yourself and Then You'll Find Mr. Right

The most important part of finding the right person is honestly defining yourself and your needs in life. Defining the things that matter most to us and evaluating the importance of a potential partner's level of concern for those same issues is something many of us don't do until after we've invested significant time and energy in a relationship. If you're a single person who thinks you'd like to get married, but aren't sure how to go about successfully seeking a compatible partner, read on…

Who are you?

Perhaps the most important thing you need to know is who you are. Sounds simple. But sometimes people observing us can see things about us that we've grown so used to, we no longer even notice.

Think about what you know about yourself. Make a list.

•Do you like to get up early, or do you like to sleep in? Do you like to party until the bars close, or would you rather spend an evening in pajamas watching PBS?

•Are you religious or not?

•Is family important to you? Would you like to have children? If so, how soon? How many?

•What hobbies do you enjoy? Are you an active outdoors person, or do you prefer doing things indoors and leisurely?

•Are you a health nut? Or a smoker?

Most of us are very open-minded about what we like. If a person we are dating is different, it can seem exciting and become a fun opportunity to try new things. We might even learn we like something we'd never thought of trying before. But sometimes we allow our initial excitement to cloud potential conflict areas. It's fine to be open-minded. But it's very important for us to know which things are important to us--which things we won't compromise--prior to engaging in a romantic relationship with another person.