You don’t need to hold your sex, dating, love, or relationship life hostage for a perfect someone. Newsflash! No one is perfect. The quest for the best one has left many suitable people blue-ticked.

How Prioridating Works?
Everywhere you turn online, there are relationship goals and new dating standards. If you follow them, no one will ever be good enough for you. And if you’re a perfectionist, you’ll be too fantastic for everyone else. What is the middle ground? Prioridating!

The term was coined by dating coach Laurel House, a relationship expert at eHarmony, and it’s all about prioritizing yourself and your primary needs in order to find and build a healthy, lasting relationship. “Prioridating is dating on purpose, the purpose being to find someone who fulfills the one most important thing you need in a relationship,” House explains. “Historically, many people have dated based on a list of wants. Many of those wants are being superficial or not thoroughly thought through, as opposed to core values and relationship-sustaining needs that will impact your future.”

“What’s your number one most important priority when it comes to finding a partner? Determine that, and you WILL find and fulfill your need. Your one most important thing might be Safe- physical, emotional, financial safety. It might be feeling Cared For, or Romance, or a Partner, or Fun, or Friendship, or Adventure, or Family. Whatever your one priority is, you must align with it. Your conversations, associations, thoughts, actions, attitude must all align with the Priority of being, feeling, experiencing, living that Priority.​”

“PrioriDating is about you- your life, your experience of life, based on your perspective, created by your past experiences, that shaped who you are and what you need moving forward. It’s time to own and show up as the Priority and with your Priority in mind and in action. Once you define and align with your priority, you have a better chance at discovering and fulfilling your needs — first (and most importantly) within yourself and then within a partner. Win-win-win.” — Laurel House.

Before you think everyone’s just going to be like “I want someone hot,” that’s actually proven to no longer be the case. According to Match’s 2021 Singles in America study, 22 percent of people don’t really care about “physical attractiveness” in a partner, which is a 12 percent increase from 2020. On the flip side, 84 percent of singles want someone they can confide in and 83 percent want to be with someone “emotionally mature.”
If the years the study took place made you double-take, that’s because the pandemic had a clear impact on what people are now looking for when it comes to love. While that era seemed like an endless hell of Zoom dates and Skype calls, in reality, it prompted the majority of singles to re-evaluate their concept of relationships. With so much time spent chatting and connecting in isolation, people realized the value in qualities like humour, open-mindedness, and effective communication over more superficial traits like physical attractiveness and lifestyle, says Lozano. You know, things that really stand out during a global crisis!

Prioridating is not settling.
You deny your deepest desires. You don’t have to be this person who resents others for getting what they deserve. Someone’s looks, height, or bank account won’t matter when you need emotional support. It’s true.
I had a friend who said she could carry her baby’s looks. Why would she say this? We were being picky about how her man looked. But she knew he was a supportive guy. And would not question her decision because of something frivolous.

It is not settling. Why?
You aren’t expecting the world of your partner. Because you have removed society’s checklist to use for comparisons. So, choosing them doesn’t feel like settling. And you can always self-confirm your choice when external people criticize your decision.

How can prioridating work for you?
Pick someone who meets your current priority. But this person is also self-developing. By then, they should have grown to meet your new needs.
For example, you require support. You picked a supportive partner, but they don’t have it together financially. It’s okay, for now, because they are building their startup or returning to school. Years later, you can evaluate your needs and your partner’s ability to meet them.
On paper, that sounds terrible. But in a relationship, you will do this evaluation, anyway. That’s why people regret who they married or their age at first marriage or child. Prioridating allows for planning to reduce regrets.

Your partner complements you. They do not complete you.
If you want to align with a partner, aim to be that person for yourself first. If you have trauma and this isn’t possible, give yourself the grace to grow emotionally.

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