Marriage is a defining moment in the life of two individuals. It is the day when they decide that they belong to each other, heart and soul. Marriage is a public announcement of the love the two have for each other and a sign of gratitude to the almighty because God led them through all their hardships into each other's arms.

We are one of the handful species on this planet who exercise monogamy. The other organisms who can match our commitment are penguins, which mate for life, and swans, which are known to die of broken heart syndrome if their mate passes away before them.  

In recent years, we have incorporated many methods of finding the one like matrimony ads in the newspaper, marriage astrology, matrimony sites and marriage horoscopes. When we become desperate we look to men who carry out marriage predictions. All it really comes down to is human psychology. Men look for something in a woman when they are ready to settle and so do woman. But many times we are hindered due to our own personality traits causing our demise in the department of love.

To give the ladies out there a cheat - sheet, the following list is a compilation of the things a man ready to settle looks for in his future wife to be. These are not targeted so that you feel the need to change yourself, but more a guideline which could benefit you in your future endeavors.

• Kindness

We are bringing out the big guns right at the beginning. Kindness is attractive at a spiritual level which cannot be explained in simple words. If a man saw a woman simply giving some food to a starving stray or helping a stranger on the street makes him imagine you taking care of him and your children.

• Intellectually Challenging

Time is a cruel mistress, especially for individuals who cruised all throughout their lives based on their attractiveness. But beauty fades. This is why relationships based on physical attractiveness don’t last. Men want an engaging woman, some who will question life itself and baffle them with ideas and their intellect. If you don’t believe me, Brad Pitt married and divorced twice, but Stephen Hawking is still married.

• Understanding and Empathy

If you are kind, by default you also have empathy for others. Your understanding of situations and arguments from all perspective show that no matter how big a mistake or the situation, your marriage will always perceiver through it.

• Puts in Effort

Too many relationships fall into oblivion because of it being one-sided. The effort in the marriage has to be from both sides. When the relationships are new and exciting both of you will make small but significant gestures for each other. But if you let the flame die as you progress, relationship dies as well. The key is to find the one whom you want to keep making those gestures for.

• Physical Attractiveness

We would not judge a book by its cover if the book could wear its personality. Unfortunately, this is a fault in us and causes many to make wrong decisions. The physical love between a man and a woman is very necessary for the marriage to stay together. Hence, it is necessary to find someone who finds you attractive as much as you find them. This does not mean you have to change yourself to fit into someone’s image. It simply suggests meeting someone who likes you as much as you like them.

Love is a difficult ordeal and requires patience and at times a lot of disappointment. But all good things are so because reaching them is difficult.a