As the famous love song says, “Love will keep us alive”. There are many kinds of love but the most common one we usually read on blogs is a romantic one. Human beings are programmed to coexist and be with other people. That explains why people put such importance and great weight in romantic relationships. We always hear all the bliss and the pain of having one. We see it in movies, we hear it in songs, and we read it in poems.

According to Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, Intimacy, Commitment, and Passion will determine the type of love or relationship that exists

Lots of articles are gravitated towards on the dos and the don’ts of relationship or the people we should stay away from. Rarely do we read pieces that tell us when to have one. There is no definite age when to start having a partner, but there are lots of signs to determine if we are in fact ready or not. Here are some tips that will definitely help make up the minds of the doubtful ones.

Chasing the wrong ones

Chasing the wrong people can harm one’s self-esteem and future relationships. The phrase “all men are jerks” is just not true. There are a lot of good and ideal people out there, but we just can’t see it yet. Chasing the wrong person can also be a subconscious manifestation of not being ready. According to some love gurus, getting into relationships with the wrong person means that there’s a subconscious sabotage going on. This means that we partly know we are not ready to commit, yet. Hence, pursuing the wrong people who never want to settle down.

“You complete me”

This may sound like a sweet compliment but it actually isn’t. Relationships shouldn’t be a cure to feeling lonely, but instead a supplement to a complete life. This is why lots of relationships fail because we expect our partners to fill all our voids and sadness. We expect them to treat us like how we think we deserve. We also expect them to always go by our rules even if it’s not reasonable anymore.

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Relationship shouldn’t be a missing piece, but a support to keep the puzzle whole

The relationship is not a wish-granting factory that we can get what we want just because our partners are expected to complete us. Being whole and self-aware is a major attribute that we must all possess before letting someone in.

It doesn’t fit

They say that individuals put their best foot forward during courtship to easily captivate the person. Although this is a widely-practiced notion, this can have disadvantages when the real relationship begins. We are not required to change ourselves to fit a person’s ideal partner. If this is the case, then, entering into a relationship is a very bad idea. Our partners must love us, flaws and all. There is a huge difference between changing ourselves and compromising. We don’t have to change everything just to be liked, and we shouldn’t also demand change from our partners.

Be a source of positive influence

We are generally good people, but being in a relationship transforms us to become better. It is common to the new couple, where they want to make each other better. There are many motives to this behavior. For one, we want to be better so that we can keep the person we love, or we realize that it’s finally time to grow. People who view relationship this way mean that they are emotionally ready to have one.

Wisdom comes with age

Entering into a relationship can be very overwhelming and it’s very difficult to adjust. Though it’s generally true that love has no age, being too young to be in one is not a risk anyone should take. Emotional maturity, most of the time, comes with chronological age.

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Being in a relationship means knowing which battles to pick and the ones to let go

The older we get, the better we become at handling our emotions. We can find the thin line between love and infatuation, love and lust, and love and peer pressure. Having this clear mind can be a major contributor to a lasting relationship. Yes, it’s true that we sometimes find our true love at a young age, but that love might not be our right one. It’s always better to wait and figure things out by ourselves. So that when love comes knocking, we have already fixed the issues that have been buried deep down.