What do a life partner and investors have in common? 

It is the major life decision they have to make: choosing the right partner to deal with. 

Whereas making the right choice is one thing being able to sustain and to succeed is another. 

Will you marry me? 

Is one of the most controversial, anticipated, and life-changing questions one could ask, or anyone could ever have to answer. It entails the most important life decision a person will ever make. Marriage by definition is a legal union and lifelong commitment. Therefore, married life is more than the grand ceremonial event and much more than a decision not to divorce. This is a moral obligation and lifetime partnership with the one you chose to spend the rest of your life with. 

The importance of recognizing your way of choosing your life partner plays a huge role in how you intend to be successful in your career and personal growth. No man is an island, one thing considered as the greatest turning point in one’s journey of life is the moment they have met “The One.” Warren Buffet one of the richest men in the world said that the biggest decision in life is deciding who you choose to marry. In one event Buffet said to Bill Gates, “You want to associate with people who are the kind of person you’d like to be. You’ll move in that direction, and the most important person by far in that respect is your spouse.”

Almost every day you see marriage proposals, engagement parties, wedding films, married life reels all across social media platforms. It is a romantic and sentimental moment to behold. We can see how tedious the preparations can be for the big day. Everyone seems to be very excited and so over the moon to prepare for what we think is the endgame of one’s love story, but not truly prepared for what lies ahead. 

When the fireworks and butterflies begin to fade out, it’s only the two of you that’s left. Reality starts to sink in, that lifetime partnership is beyond the joy and excitement of merely selecting the perfect wedding dress. During the realization stage of marriage, where responsibilities start to accumulate and conflicts begin to arise, married couples will be more likely to ask themselves if they are at all in the right partnership. 

Although marriage and lifetime partnership could be two different things, they could also be the same thing. For a marriage to work, you have to have a solid devotion to your other half that you will do whatever it takes to make your sacred bond last. On the other hand, a partnership does not necessarily require a wedding ceremony for it to work. It is your commitment and compatibility that make a great partnership. You have to see each other as an ally to remain steadfast and prepared for the waves of changes that will occur along the way. 

A recent study found that 19.2% among divorced individuals provided incompatibility as one of the related reasons for divorce in an open-ended survey, while the most checked reasons from a list of choices questionnaire, the lack of commitment hold the largest tally with 85%. To sum up, importance on issues such as communication, incompatibility, and commitment, as reasons for divorce consistently exist. Nevertheless, life partnership should not be a daily battlefield but a daily reminder that both of you are a work in progress. You need one another in complimenting each other to grow and build together. 

But a good partnership does not just happen overnight — you have to work for it. Sometimes it takes a huge amount of time in our life looking for the one. Everybody has their criteria of what their dream partner should have. But rarely do we ever find someone who is a perfect match, instead, we learned to compromise and get to love and stay faithful despite their flaws. When you found the one, you are lucky enough as it may only happen once in a lifetime. It will be worth it. Because when your life at home is stable, your family is happy and supportive, you will enjoy immense personal and career success — it will surely make all the difference. You and your life partner will become unstoppable. 

Choosing the perfect match could be a tricky one, simply put here are some things that can help to determine in finding “The One.” 

7 Signs that Your Partner in Life is Also Your Partner for Success

1. You are both conscientious – Integrity is key not just in relationships but in all aspects of life. You keep your relationship organized in a way that is respectful and efficient for one another. The conscientious partnership complements the needs of one another and provides moral, social, and life support. This is a huge factor to set people up for success. 
2. You feel comfortable with complete confidence and trust – What is the point of being in a relationship whether it be a business or personal partnership if you cannot be completely honest with each other? It is unfair to lose confidence with your significant other and not be brave enough to admit it to him/her. Your trust and faith solidify the foundation of your partnership. Otherwise, your invested time, energy, and effort will only be put to waste. To be in partnership with whom you can trust and enjoy life is a huge help to attain success with a special sense of ease.
3. You appreciate and recognize each other’s identity – Apparently, nobody wants to spend their life with someone who does not recognize personal dreams/goals or personality. People by nature are created unique from one another. For a partnership to succeed, one must put serious attention and appreciation to their significant other as the person that they truly are and not as their clone or what they project them to be. Because when your presence and efforts are acknowledged and appreciated, it brings out the best in each other. In this way, both of you could leverage each other’s strengths and use them to sustain the partnership. 
4. You have a solid commitment with each other – you set goals for your relationship and plans for the future together. Your words and actions must express that you are committed to working with this relationship for the long term. You do not easily give up when things get bumpy, by choice, you find ways hand-in-hand to resolve the conflicts. You agreed to keep your foundations intact: Intimacy, Commitment, and Passion. 
5. You look after each other’s well-being – You genuinely wish the best for your partner. His/ her small wins bring great joy and satisfaction to you. It is equally important to you to see your partner feels good about herself/himself. It is your delight to see him/her flourish. Both of you show utmost concern and affection with regards to your partner’s health and well-being: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. 
6. You Empower Each Other by Keeping your Communications Open – when you leave your significant other clueless about what’s going on in your mind, you deprive him of the power to understand and sympathize with the situation that needs to be resolved promptly. It is impractical to keep your partner guessing or assuming as it will only prolong problems and may lead to misunderstandings. By simply talking to your partner, you share the power, ensuring that one is being heard and each of your opinions counts. 
7. You encourage healthy arguments – It’s perfectly normal to disagree with your partner about something from time to time. Arguments are bound to happen, but that does not mean shouting, namecalling, humiliating, holding grudges, or emotional blackmail. On the other hand, constant pretending that everything is okay is never the solution to keep the relationship stronger. We can turn the arguments into a healthy discourse in believing that conflicts are encouraged because it is a positive bond-building opportunity for both of you if given and taken constructively. It is the key to personal growth and deeper mutual understanding. Learning from arguments and resolving them with respect and voice of reason strengthens both of you as individuals and develops resilience to you as partners. 

A strong and healthy partnership takes ongoing effort, passion, and investment of time for it to go. What matters is the one that you have chosen is worth the effort. So, take your time to evaluate the provided key points and honestly ask yourself, Is my partner right for me?

References: 

Scott, S. B., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., Allen, E. S., & Markman, H. J. (2013). Reasons for Divorce and Recollections of Premarital Intervention: Implications for Improving Relationship Education. Couple & family psychology, 2(2), 131–145.