CLUE 2. How many factors attract?
Infatuation: the number of factors that attract you are relatively few. Just the smile? Just the pretty face? Just the lovely hair? Just the funny jokes?
Real Love: many or most qualities of the person - and the relationship - attract you. You like not only the way the person looks and talks, but the way he or she thinks and feels about things and other people.
Do you like the person's reactions to personal success? To failure? To tough challenges? To faults in his or her self, and in you or others? What about use of leisure time? And what about thoughtfulness, kindness, courage, temper, and temperament? Does the person have healthy and balanced attitudes toward money, sex, school, family, and friends?
Toward the past and the future? What about bad habits? Ask yourself two important questions:
How many of the countless characteristics of this person do I know enough about?
How many of those things do I find attractive?
It takes time and effort to know a person extremely well. Only then can you judge your reaction to the many, many facets of that person's nature. If many or most of those factors attract you, this tends to indicate real love. When the excitement and romance wear off in a marriage, you need lots of other interests in common to hold you together over the long pull. You need to like each other as well as love each other.
It does not matter much that you like the same kind of pizzas and movies. It matters very much whether you agree on life-style and whether you want to have children, makes lots of money, or have two separate careers.
Two persons who are psychological opposites may attract and have a good marriage. Social opposites almost never do. It is alright for a dominant person to have a submissive mate.
However, the greater the social differences, e.g. a very rich and a very poor, the greater the dangers.
The more you two agree on these issues, the better your chances for success in marriage:
ROOTS: How similar are you as to: Social Class? Racial, national, and ethnic roots? City vs. country backgrounds? Religions?
VALUES: What is very important to you: Religion? Money? Social position and acceptance? Prestige? Sex before/after marriage? Who decides?
CHILDREN: Do you like them? Want them? How many? What about birth control? If so, what kind? Who is responsible for it?
MONEY: How much is enough? Who will make it? Save it? For what? Spend it? On what? Who'll budget, pay bills, do the shopping? (More married couples fight about money than any other thing.)
SEX ROLES: Who'll make decisions? Will both work? Will you share home chores? If babies come, will the wife work outside the home?
WHERE AND HOW TO LIVE: Region? Rural or urban? Fancy or modest?
MAIN INTERESTS: Hobbies? Vocation plans? Education? Recreation likes and dislikes?
INVESTMENT IN YOUR FUTURE: What do you plan to do about war, pollution, poverty, and so on?
CONCEPTS OF MARRIAGE: Permanent? Trust and fidelity? Companionship?
MAJOR GOALS AND HOPES FOR THE FUTURE: What do you want out of life? How will you get there from here? Who can help?
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Can the two of you work out differences? Can you talk over problems with honesty? Can you solve disputes without hurting each other? Do either of you get mad or get grumpy when things don't go your way? Do you feel free to share your true feelings, or do you hold back out of fear or lack of trust and confidence? You'd best find out before you marry.