To be ready for marriage, you need to prepare for love, be open to change and know your priorities.
By Nancy Pina — Written on May 24, 2013
Some common questions people ask me about marriage are: "With so many life options, how do you know when you should get married?" "When should you be dating just to have fun?" and "Is it ever too early to start thinking about these major life decisions?"
As a relationship coach and former matchmaker, I can confidently say that the number one regret many of my professional, never-married female clients over 35 years old tell me they have is not having made time for love. They were so caught up in their career goals that they "forgot" to get married. They always believed they had plenty of time to fall in love, committ to the right guy, get married and have children. Most panic and want to meet someone immediately, trying to make up for lost time. In the back of their minds, they did not consciously say, "Marriage is unimportant to me," but, "I don't have time right now, but will make it a priority soon ... just after I complete this next goal." Since marriage wasn't immediately on their radar, they took no actions to achieve that goal. The result? Their lack of forethought led to a future they didn't anticipate—a future they previously took as a given.
This attitude of postponing marriage is reflected in a recent article in The Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that a smaller number of young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 were getting married in 2011 than in 1976. The 1976 Australian census showed that 67 percent of 24-year-olds were married at the time, compared with just 14 percent in 2011. The reasons for delaying marriage are similar to what we find here in the United States. Many want to experience more life before making a life-long commitment, choosing to pursue higher education and careers instead. Developing talents and setting educational, financial and professional goals—and achieving them—is very rewarding and certainly does enrich life. However, singleminded devotion to tangible goals will not fulfill the emotional desires of your heart. That's why I'm sharing my advice for those who want to know when the "right time" to marry. Keep reading...
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