Looking to settle down?

It’s a big decision to make.

If you choose the right partner, you may spend the rest of your life with someone who helps you to learn and grow, giving you the opportunity of living with happiness and fulfillment.

Make the wrong choice, and well… I don’t want to sound dramatic but you could be in for a lifetime of heartache.

So when it comes to choosing your life partner, there are some types of people you simply must avoid.

Here are ten habits to avoid when choosing your spouse.

1) Stay away from someone who is narrow-minded

If you are someone who is open-minded, then it’s very important you find a partner who is also open-minded.

The reason is simple.

Open-minded people in a romantic partnership can support each other in expanding their horizons together.

2) Avoid people who treat animals without respect and compassion

There’s an unfortunate tendency amongst many people to treat animals with disrespect. It comes from a belief that humans are superior to other living species.

How can this be justified? Is it because we’re smarter?

Instead, respect and compassion for all living species is an attribute to look for in people.

Someone who is kind to animals is usually kind to people.

3) Steer clear of people who don’t value relationships

If you find yourself madly in love with a partner who has cheated on previous partners, reconsider your options here.

If you find yourself madly in love with a partner who has cheated on previous partners, reconsider your options here.

People who don’t follow the rules of a relationship are unlikely to change – although it does happen.

Do you really want to be the guinea pig in this scenario? Find someone who will be true to you.

4) Don’t marry someone who breaks promises

Whether they “forget” to get the oil changed in the car or they don’t show up for a dinner reservation, someone who can’t keep it together long enough to keep a promise to you is not worth your time or life’s investment.

Find someone who does what they say they will do.

5) Stay away from dishonest people

If you catch your potential spouse lying to you, reconsider the relationship.

Of course, the severity of the lie can come into play, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that one lie leads to another.

If they are lying about why they stayed late at work, what else are they lying about?

6) Watch out for people want to fight with you for the sake of it

A partner who doesn’t leave well enough alone is not someone you want to spend the rest of your life with – you want to be with someone who can leave the past in the past.

Life is hard enough without having to drag up the past all the time. Someone who can’t forgive and forget is not someone you want to be married to at all.

7) Don’t marry someone who doesn’t respect their family

If your partner is mean to their family, there’s a good chance they will treat you the same way. Although humans tend to be the meanest to the ones they love, there’s something to be said about someone who does it with malice.

Watch out for people who don’t give any of their time to family members or even close friends. That could be you someday.

8) Avoid abusive personalities

If someone doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, then there is no point in being in the relationship. Abuse comes in many forms.

While you might be thinking about physical abuse, mental abuse can wear someone down almost as fast as physical abuse, if not more.

Reconsider your relationship if you are always on defense and waiting for the next fight or passive aggressive comment from your partner to fly your way.

9) Don’t choose someone who doesn’t listen to you

If your partner is always speaking for you or correcting you when you speak, consider that they don’t respect your opinion and don’t want you having a voice of your own. This is a form of abuse and control.

If your partner cuts you off mid-sentence, it means they don’t respect you enough to listen.

10) Watch out for people who aren’t emotionally mature

A lot of people don’t have the wherewithal to take care of themselves these days.

We’ve been babied and coddled our whole lives, and it seems that many people don’t know how to pay bills, hold a job, or clean their homes.

If you find yourself with someone who hasn’t grown up, move on. You don’t need that in your life.

Now that you’ve ready about someone to marry, check out our article on what it means to be emotionally mature.