Are You Actually Ready For A Serious Relationship? 10 Questions To Ask Yourself

A serious relationship can provide a lot of love and happiness, but it takes time, effort, and hard work to maintain. It’s more than just a feeling, but a commitment. If it’s done right, it can be something that lasts a lifetime. Are you ready for that? Ask yourself these questions to find out.

1. Are you happy with who you are? Before you get into any relationship, you have to love yourself completely and unconditionally all on your own. It’s a cliched idea, but a true one. There’s no use trying to make someone else happy first or relying on them to make you feel fulfilled and content. It’ll never work out if you do. Finding yourself, discovering who you are and what your passions are, accepting yourself flaws and all — all of that comes first. If you’re still trying to do any of those things, maybe a relationship isn’t in the cards just yet. Love yourself first, and a relationship will follow.
2. Where do you see yourself in five years? This is a serious question and a hard one for some people to answer. Go ahead, close your eyes and let your mind wander into the future. Do you see yourself partying it up in Spain with your best girlfriends, being romanced by a tall, dark, handsome local who doesn’t speak any English? How about working late hours at your dream job in the city, grinding day in and day out? What about being cuddled up on the couch with your family with a bowl of popcorn and a movie? You don’t have to go down the path that society tells you to. If you honestly don’t see a relationship, don’t force it.
3. Where do you stand with your career? If you’re not quite where you want to be work-wise, it might not be the best time to start a new relationship. It could be a better idea to get settled with your career, become successful, make some money, and then look for love. However, everyone is different and people value different things. Perhaps finding love is more important than making money, which is fine — you just need to figure out your priorities.
4. What’s most important to you in the world? Money, health, love, faith, family, cats, food? Would you be able to compromise on something you care about if the other person has no interest in it? It’s important to know who you are and what’s most important to you/what you value most before you can start learning all of these things about someone else. Knowing yourself will help you realize what type of person you want to be with.
5. Where do you want to live? Long-distance relationships usually suck, so it’s important to know where you want to live long-term before getting serious with your significant other. If you plan on moving, you might want to hold off and dipping your toes into the dating pool until you get to where you’re going. You should also have a general idea of whether you’re a city person, or if you need wide open spaces. It’s good to know if you’ll be compatible with someone when making these important life decisions.
6. Do you want to get married? Getting married is no longer a foregone conclusion. That’s great for those who don’t want to tie the knot, but there are still plenty of more traditionally-minded folks out there who value marriage and want to get married someday. It’s good to know where you stand on a topic like this before getting invested in a relationship.
7. Do you want kids? This might be something you’ve never thought about before. If you get into something serious, this conversation will eventually come up. You may find out that you and your partner have different views on having children. If you don’t ask yourself this question now, you may make up your mind when it’s too late.
8. Are you ready to completely put yourself out there? Falling in love is both simple and complicated. It can make you cry happy tears and it can make you vulnerable. If you’re really ready for a serious relationship, you have to commit, trust, be open and emotional — and a lot of people aren’t ready for something like that because it’s scary. Relationships aren’t all flirting and kisses; things can get rough and sometimes painful and complicated. You have to be ready for it.
9. What type of guy are you interested in? Experience is the best teacher. If you haven’t dated much or if you haven’t had a one-night stand once in your life, how do you expect to know what you like and what you don’t? Do you want someone who’s career-driven? Do you need someone who’s sensitive and can emotionally support you? Is it a deal breaker if you and your partner don’t cheer for the same football team? Knowing what and who you want is a good first step to starting a new relationship.
10. Are you ready to settle down? When you think of being with only one person for the rest of your life, does it freak you out or make you smile? That right there is a serious sign if you’re ready for a big commitment like a relationship. If you feel like you’ve experienced everything you’ve wanted to experience as a single person, it could be time. Don’t go into a serious commitment if you think you’ll have regrets later on down the road.