Finding the one is often not as easy as it looks. If you’re a busy person with no time to date, it can be even more difficult. Here is a quick guide that might be of assistance.

Learn to love yourself

Before you start looking for a person to spend the rest of your life with, make sure you are ready for a committed relationship. For starters, you have to learn to love yourself. Take care of your own physical, mental, spiritual, and financial wellbeing by doing things that make you happy and help you feel accomplished. If you jump into a relationship while unsure and unloving of yourself, you cannot expect someone else to fill this hole for you. You need to learn proper communication and have emotional stability prior to entering a relationship. Moreover, if you still have goals that you want to reach such as advancing in your career but feel like having a partner will set you back, make sure you focus on yourself first. Once you believe you can set healthy life-work boundaries, you can focus on finding a lifelong partner.

Understand what you expect from a partner

Once you have a greater love for yourself, you should decide on what you expect from a partner. Do you want marriage? Kids? Is your goal still to focus on your career? Are you looking for someone that is accomplished on the business front or do you not mind if they still have certain goals they want to reach? How important is financial stability? Something you can also do is reexamine your past relationships for certain patterns that didn’t work. Were your previous partners not there for you or was it you who was not supportive enough? Was there a lack of respect, lack of alone time, or lack of commitment? All of these things can help you determine what you should look for in a new, potentially lifelong partner.

Know where to look

With a better understanding of your expectations, you can finally start your search. While online dating apps like Tinder are an option where many people actually find a suitable long-term partner, the process is often hit and miss. If you’d rather avoid this approach to dating, you should consult with experts from Blue Label Life. This method is much more suitable for busy people who are interested in a committed relationship. Experts at these agencies will look through thousands of potential matches and set you up with only those that share your interests, goals, and values, meaning that you don’t have to go on countless dates that lead nowhere. Moreover, you can receive constructive feedback after every date you go on, which can help you adjust your approach.

Set goals for the relationship

You might not feel the spark on the first date but if you have plenty of things in common, try spending some time together to see where the relationship can go. That’s why it’s important not to make your decision based on first impressions. Rather than going on dates to the movies where you can’t talk, opt for some one-on-one time to get to know each other properly. By sharing early on what you are interested in, you will see whether there is a future you can work toward together. For instance, you can set some short- and long-term goals. To meet these goals, you will both need to put in the work and carve out some time for dates where you will listen and ask open-ended questions that will allow the conversation to flow. You can give yourselves a few months to see how things are going so that no one’s feelings are hurt if it turns out that the relationship is just not the right fit. If you’re looking for someone you will spend the rest of your life with, you don’t have time to waste on people who are not a match.

As sometimes love doesn’t happen easily, you might have to take matters into your own hands. Following these steps can be of immense help when looking for a lifelong partner.