Yeah stupid high standards also aren’t what I’m advocating for. I may not be an expert, but I’m happily married.

Being with someone with similar goals to you is important. Going in expecting your partner to have figured everything out is important. But also important is being ok with where they are.

If you go into a relationship with someone who’s fat you need to be ok with the reality that they might never become skinny, even if they want to (but also it’s a lot of work and plenty of people are ok with their body as is).

I’d never enter a financially tied relationship with a spendthrift, it would stress me the hell out and I’d rather be single. But a partner who struggles with depression, adhd, and other mental issues that can get in the way of life? Yeah I can live with that, though it’s important that she not be resigned to it and that she keep trying to deal with it. A partner who isn’t as in shape as I prefer to be? Yeah I can live with that, I’d prefer if she be interested in and capable of long walks and going on bike rides, but if not that’s ok.

Plenty of chronically single people have too high standards, but getting a fixer upper isn’t a happy sustainable solution, figuring out your actual priorities and becoming the sort of person who’s attractive to the people who match those priorities is. Or don’t, I already got mine.