and how do you know you're ready to invest in a relationship?
Love relationships can be somehow complex and not straight-forward. This is how it is for me, and it can be different for you. I know how long it took me to be in a relationship because finding someone who ticks all the boxes can be quite difficult and you definitely need to let go of some boxes at some point. This is because no one can truly be perfect the way you want; you just learn and grow to have the perfect relationship you want.
But before even thinking of going to anyone, there are some important boxes that a potential partner must fill before a relationship can be formed or before thinking of investing in the relationship.
First of all for me, my partner must have the fear of God (she must know God and love God). I really want a woman who is spiritual, who will drive me closer to God and who will always remind me of him. Someone who believes in his existence and has an existing relationship with him. As someone who thrives on building his spirituality and connection with God, I will love to connect with someone on that path as well.
Another thing is to be goal-oriented. One thing about me is that I try to be goal-oriented. I do my best to make goals and attain them. I will love to have someone who will keep me on my toes, as @niranaway calls it. Someone who will motivate me to be better, and someone who I will be inspired by.
The next thing is that she has to be a sensible and reasonable person. In this generation, there are a lot of unreasonable ladies out there; even men are not excluded but since I am not gay, my focus is on the ladies. In my region, most of the ladies prioritize their bodies over valuable skills and knowledge. If you ask some ladies what they bring to the table, some will ask, "Can't you look at my body?" or will probably say something related to that.
Another essential quality I will look at is how she relates to people, especially those under her. Some people don't know how to treat people well, especially those who are beneath them. I will like to have someone who has empathy and respect for people of different levels, regardless of age, and status.
This last one, which is the least important and which I don't bother myself with, is genotype. While this might be very important to others, it is not as important to me, and that is because my genotype is AA and ever since I knew this, I am not bothered about genotype again because I know that I am compatible with any genotype.
These are the basic qualities I look at a potential partner before I make a major move towards investing in the relationship.