I think the primary reason why so many people want to believe they have a soulmate is because they wish to see their lives play out like a fairytale -- one in which they end up with their princess or prince charming.
That might seem plausible when it comes to couples who meet as teenagers, get married, have kids, and live out the rest of their lives together. But how often does this really happen? After all, the divorce rate in the U.S. is somewhere around 50 percent, with some people -- including my boss -- remarrying two or more times.
There isn't just one person in the whole world who we're compatible with enough to maintain a long-lasting relationship.
For all we know, there could be hundreds of would-be "soulmates" for us residing in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, and China.
There's no way to meet all these people, so what do people do? They reason that whoever they end up with in a relationship must be their soulmate.
But think about how different your life would turned out had you, say, gone to college in a different state, visited scads of countries when you were younger, or chosen to work for a different company.
Many of us meet our partners in school, at work, or while traveling, meaning that our partners now might be different had we gone down different paths in our lives.
There are things we all love about our partners, but there are others we wish we could change or that we would find in someone else. For example, it's possible you wish your partner were thinner, taller, or into sports. Someone out there could meet that criteria, but perhaps they lack something you value in your significant other, like a sense of humor.
While the concept of a soulmate gives many people the fuzzies, I just don't think it holds any water. And I think most people know that many people out there can fill that role. Otherwise, people would never get divorced or bother reentering the dating market.
Please share this post with your buddies. To read earlier posts, click here: How to Understand People
That might seem plausible when it comes to couples who meet as teenagers, get married, have kids, and live out the rest of their lives together. But how often does this really happen? After all, the divorce rate in the U.S. is somewhere around 50 percent, with some people -- including my boss -- remarrying two or more times.
There isn't just one person in the whole world who we're compatible with enough to maintain a long-lasting relationship.
For all we know, there could be hundreds of would-be "soulmates" for us residing in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, and China.
There's no way to meet all these people, so what do people do? They reason that whoever they end up with in a relationship must be their soulmate.
But think about how different your life would turned out had you, say, gone to college in a different state, visited scads of countries when you were younger, or chosen to work for a different company.
Many of us meet our partners in school, at work, or while traveling, meaning that our partners now might be different had we gone down different paths in our lives.
There are things we all love about our partners, but there are others we wish we could change or that we would find in someone else. For example, it's possible you wish your partner were thinner, taller, or into sports. Someone out there could meet that criteria, but perhaps they lack something you value in your significant other, like a sense of humor.
While the concept of a soulmate gives many people the fuzzies, I just don't think it holds any water. And I think most people know that many people out there can fill that role. Otherwise, people would never get divorced or bother reentering the dating market.
Please share this post with your buddies. To read earlier posts, click here: How to Understand People
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