This isn't meant to be a "how to" guide on finding a partner, it's meant to speak to the importance of finding a partner in your lover/spouse/companion. Don't worry if you don't know what this means, I just learned about the true meaning of the word partner after I fell for someone who I would be extremely honored to call a partner.
To me, a partner is a companion that you push and who pushes you. You make each other better in all aspects of life. You celebrate each other's victories and you life each other up during times of defeat. Your partner is someone you respect and adore equally. If you respect them more than you adore them, you'll grow to fear them. If you adore them more than you respect them, you'll grow to resent them.
I am currently smitten with someone I respect greatly for being a smart and aggressive leader in his field. But, I equally adore him for being a compassionate, multi-faceted, and loving individual.
In my experience, two lions do not partner well. They fight in order to maintain dominance in the relationship. The value of having a partner that you respect and adore, is that those two lend themselves to the most important factor in any relationship...trust.
I know that I am an alpha female, and I'm smitten with an alpha male, but having respect and adoration for him will lead to trust, and having trust will allow me to submit to him. And while I'm absolutely a feminist and a "lean in" type of woman, I also think that if you can find someone you trust, it's okay to submit to them in a partnership.
When is it not okay to submit to a man you ask? My answer would be... when you do so blindly. Meaning, when you do it because he's a man. Or when you do it after he's given you no reason to trust that he can steer your relationship (and potentially your future).
I truly hope this post does not offend anyone, I'm only speaking to the importance of sustaining your relationship by knowing that you have a partner, someone you can trust completely. Partnership is never easy (enter ego), but it is possible. The alternative is dependency. Either you on your significant other, or he/she on you. If you cannot trust your partner, you should not be with them. And if you do not both respect and adore them, you will not trust them.
