No one get excited or nervous, this chapter is not a religious discussion of any sorts. Although, you may feel divine after reading through and successfully navigating the tenets contained within the chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to assist the reader in realizing the difference between life’s desires and life’s requirements. An additional goal is to assist the reader in uncovering how much of her/himself is left to figure out. How much personal work do you have left before you are in a position to truly build and maintain a successful romantic relationship? This chapter is going to truly test yourintrospective and self-reflective abilities. But, most of all, it will test your ability to be honest with yourself. Are you ready for the journey that you are attempting to undertake?

Here is the time to check you insecurities at the door. This does not mean leave them behind to never be revisited. Actually, you need to store them in an open and easy to access place. You will have to deal with them eventually, may as well put them in a display case where they are safely locked away in plain sight. This check point is your metaphoric TSA airport stop…thorough and unpleasant, yet, ultimately completed with the hope of providing you some sense of security as you travel the path to your romantic relationship destination, safely and happily. This is the time to take personal inventory of you, a deep and often unflattering look at yourself. You need to be simultaneously introspective and honest from this moment forward.

A Deep Look Within
Introspection is the ability to take a mental inventory of your own thoughts, feelings, other mental processes and overall mental and emotional state of being. The better a person is at being introspective, the higher the likelihood that the individual has a clear and accurate self-understanding andself-concept. Of course, successfully navigating the task of self-understanding requires an individual to be unflinchingly honest with her/himself. Do you possess such honesty?

True introspection is the ability, the permission, to tell yourself that there are aspects of you as a person that are not as you would like them, and conversely, to tell yourself that there are aspects of you that are perfect as they currently stand. Being introspective requires one to take a deep, personal look at how he/she operates and then be able to answer why such operation is useful or beneficial, or why, when the mode of operation is clearly not beneficial, the behavior continues. It is not necessary to have clearly defined, concrete answers, just a general idea that can be elaborated upon. Introspection is an ongoing process, not andone-and-done type of deal.

While having a true and honest self-understand