Spring is in the air. The whole world comes alive with flowers,
new life, new smells, warm weather and the discernible increase
in libido of the singles crowd. Whether or not there is a direct
genetic urge to mate during a specific season, everyone wants to
date more in the spring. More often than not, this is the time
when new love can take a hold of you and before you know it you
are dancing like a cliché through puddles and singing in the
rain better than Gene Kelly. This feeling of utter bliss may
cause some of you to even contemplate the “R” word – a
Relationship.

There are so many different levels that the single person may be
on in their life regarding dating and relationships. The level
you are on can affect your level of readiness for a
relationship. For example, some singles have been serial daters
for years refusing to enter a real relationship out of fear of
rejection or simply because they love to be single and free of
the drama and anguish which relationships may cause. Some
singles have been searching for a relationship too hard and end
up scaring any potential mates away with that instant cling
action. Other single men and women have recently been removed
from a relationship and they are on the rebound. Others still
are happy being single but will gladly enter a relationship if
only the perfect specimen would cross their path. And then of
course some of you are thinking, “Well, I’ve had my fill of
parties, clubbing and one night stands for the past ten years,
my looks are fading, I might as well start the next part of my
life, get married and have kids pretty quick”.

Obviously a person needs to be in the right frame of mind and
the right part of life to try and enter a relationship. You
should be mature enough and old enough for a relationship. Your
self esteem should be high and you should not feel as if you
need a relationship to make you feel better about yourself. You
should be able to take care of yourself emotionally and
financially and not need to depend on your significant other to
take care of you completely. You should be free from past trauma
and hurt. And you should be ready to enter a relationship only
when you feel you have met the right person. Finally, you should
only enter a relationship if you are truly in love. If you do
not fill all of the requirements above, you might want to do a
little work on yourself before focusing on someone else and a
relationship. And if you feel that you do embody the right stuff
for a committed relationship, there are even more factors that
you will want to think about.

First of all, you may be ready for a relationship, but is it
even worth entering one at this point? Too many people jump
straight into a relationship just because the other person is
attractive and available. After only a week of dating, you both
decide that you are exclusive and in a relationship. Well that
is just plain silly. You are only entering this relationship
because you desire that grounded sense of stability (a noble
desire), but you have no idea if you are even compatible on the
most basic level. Later on you break up, just one of your many
relationship upsets, and your self esteem decreases just a tad
as you look back on your history of repeated relationship
failures. Obviously, this is not the way to go. Another issue to
consider is if this person feels the same way about you as you
do about him or her. You may desire to enter a relationship with
this person, even though he or she is giving you those wishy
washy mixed signals. Ostensibly you might believe he or she is
in love with you, but your heart tells you different. If you
want a successful loving relationship, you must be absolutely,
positively one hundred percent sure that this person feels the
same exact way about you. The relationship must be a mutual
arrangement. It can not be forced or coerced in any way. Forcing
a relationship will usually lead to bitter resentment later on
down the road.

As a final note, some relationships do not work even when both
partners are ready and the perfect conditions have been set only
because one or both lovers did not realize that a real
relationship needs work and compromise. This especially relates
to the person who has been happily single and dating for many
years. Suddenly, you have rules. You must call and check in
every once in a while, make plans together, watch out not to
offend the other and get over going out with the friends for
every weekend, crazy party and holiday like you used to. This
takes a while to get used to and if you are not prepared to make
these sacrifices and compromises, you may just lose one of the
best gifts you can ever receive – life long companionship.