Do you know if you are ready? If not, read on.

There are countless factors involved in attracting the perfect partner into our lives. We all have our own vision for who we hope the One is, but that’s only half of the equation. Even if you start to fall for a perfectly wonderful and beautiful person, are you ready to take that leap of faith? Understanding our own complex emotions surrounding love and partnership is an essential aspect of a successful relationship. So how do you know its the right time for love? Timing can be everything, and it does no good to enter into a heart-connection with someone if you not ready to give equally to grow that relationship.

I know personally about timing and being honest about what you can do and what actually works for you! I had to come to terms with this truth, and for me, I just had no time nor did I want to make that type of adjustment in my life at the time with so many things going on. This reality check is what most of us need. In my work, relationships are a big part of a person’s life and discussion, albeit it is family, professional peers or romance. When you look at life, it really is all about relationships. The first one, the relationship we have with ourselves and then how we develop relationships with others.

Many people have told me countless times that they desired a relationship. But in truth, they either weren’t ready, they didn’t know what they needed or wanted, still needed to heal from the past, and some didn’t want to put the time and energy into a relationship (they wanted something convenient to keep the loneliness at bay). Sometimes we can rush into a relationship to only discover that we made a huge mistake. You may want to read a previous blog post I wrote 5 Signs He or She Aint the One, so you can prevent a disaster from happening.

Know this; a real grown-up relationship is work! Make no mistake about it. It is not a ready-mix way to love with another person. It isn’t just about instant sex on demand, someone to go out with and appear to be a desirable catch to others in public. Real loving relationships require nurturing, time and attention. But it doesn’t need to feel like you are fighting to keep it together. Real love between two people should be effortless but maintaining a healthy relationship dynamic and growing in harmony together is where the work lies.

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So, how do you know when you are ready for love? What do you need to do for yourself to ensure that you can meet your partner halfway and walk as equals through life’s ups and downs? Think about it for a moment. Have you put the past behind you? Are you feeling rushed? Are you looking because you are lonely?

The answers to these questions are unique to each person, but there are specific signs that you can look for within yourself to know if you are ready to give your heart to another. Here are a few things to take note of that will help you start off on the right foot:

You have a Deep Understanding of your Strengths and your Flaws

You can’t expect another person to understand your heart if you don’t understand it yourself. We are always growing and changing as people, but it is essential that you are confident in who you are before diving into the exploration of a new partner.

You Embrace Communication

Communication is an art, and it takes a lot of practice to understand ourselves well enough to know how we best communicate our thoughts and feelings with others. Communication, even when it is a challenge, is an essential part of any love relationship and it can be learned and expressed healthily and successfully with practice.

You don’t want to be Saved

Loving another person shouldn’t be used as a way to get yourself out of a bad situation or to rescue you from an unfulfilling life. Who wants to be a target of insincerity and used? Unfortunately, there is this mindset that’s still prevalent that encourages many women to seek out that “Knight in shining armor” to save the day. For many, they’ve found disappointment or worse; if their fairy tale didn’t last, they didn’t have anything left to stand on. Once you’ve realized that you don’t need anyone to save you or complete you, you are one step closer to being ready for the ultimate love.

You are OK with Being Alone

They say that love arrives when we stop searching for it, and in many ways that is true. If you can feel comfortable and fulfilled within yourself, it is much easier to attract an ideal, like-minded, healthy partnership into your life. I will be the first person to say I LOVE my alone time but when you are truly ready to open your heart and your lifestyle to accommodate love, you will find it. What is equally important (in my honest opinion) is that once you do find real love, you both need to maintain your respect for each other’s alone time. Doing so allows for creating a balanced and healthy relationship dynamic as well as an appreciation of that quality time you do spend together.

You Own your Power

We all have flaws, and everyone makes mistakes. However, there is a unique power in each of us that can help guide us down the path of life more confidently and in a balanced manner. Someone who is ready for love is someone who owns the entirety of who they are, flaws, positive attributes and all and they embrace their confident nature with grace.

By taking steps to find completion within yourself and embrace all of your experiences, both good and bad, you can become ready to open yourself up to another in a healthy, beautiful way.

There may never be that perfect moment when you realize that you are now ready for love, and the process of finding your life partner may be a journey. But if you trust in yourself and the process and continue to be open, you will find what you are looking for or better yet, He or She may find you first!