Tacitus
2 min readSep 14, 2020

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This is a pretty good list. As someone who has had a similar experience, I can make a few other observations.

First, I had a large number of deal breakers. I realized that I had to eliminate a number of them if I ever wanted to find someone. And I had a large pool of candidates from which to choose.

The injunction of not to "settle" is illusory. In the end, we all settle.

You can make a list of criteria but some criteria are so important that they overshadow most of the others. A list of selection criteria is only meaningful if the values are accurately weighted. The "weighting" factor becomes more clear through experience.

Holding out for the candidate that is appropriate for a long term marriage, may be a fool's errand. Longevity occurs for many reasons, most of which have little to do with our desires. Things happen over time. Not saying "love the one you're with," but trying for a lot more is like trying to play god, and you are no match for his wisdom.

Factors that you won't even think about may have huge influences on what works out. For example, I went out with one girl who I thought was perfect for me, and she me. But her immediate family recoiled from the idea of her dating at the time. It was hard to believe. It became such a problem that we had to break up so she could fix the problem of her selfish kin before she could really date. - and they had never MET me!!! Capulets and Montagues show up in all relationships, and they may not make their appearances until quite some time.

Couple of other comments:

Sometimes you need freedom from choice!! Not all arranged marriages turned out bad.

Commitment to someone or something may be as important as finding the perfect one.

Chemistry will likely always be unpredictable.

Happy that you found your soulmate!!

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