Marriage is a big deal. It’s not a joke that you can undo. When the judge or the priest says that you should love each other through thick and thin, through sickness and health and till death do you part, you better believe that the intention is for you to keep your end of the bargain. So when you do tie the knot, you have to look at marriage as a commitment.

The problem is that a lot of people go into marriage unprepared. They often don’t really think the decision through. A lot of people in the throes of passion just don’t want to even think. They just want the glorious feelings to never end. So they ride the ecstasy all the way to the altar only to find out that marriage can’t survive on feelings alone. Love simply isn’t enough. There has to be values, compatibility, mutual respect, a genuine friendship and a dedication to the union.

Here is one of the best pieces of advice that couples who are looking for a lasting marriage and want to make the dedication to keeping marriage as a commitment easier.

You have to figure out if you genuinely like the person that you are about to marry.

Often people fall in love with people they don’t like. In most cases, couples are so heady in their love that they turn a blind eye to the undesirable characteristics or traits that they see in their partners. Love is even more blind when the passions are strongest. And this is often at the initial stages of love.

When the passion subsides, the person’s ugly side comes to full focus. And that’s when things start to get messy in relationships. And if a couple marries in the height of the infatuation stage, it gets very hard to keep marriage as a commitment when they finally see their incompatibilities.

So before you make the jump, you should make sure that your head and your heart is open. Make an honest assessment of how good you both could be together for the long term. Don’t go into a marriage with just your heart. You have to be smart. And that’s why your head should be able to fully rationalize the union as well.

Marriage can be the loveliest and most fulfilling relationship that you can have in your life. When you choose the right person, it could be everything you ever thought it could be. So choose wisely. Choose with your heart and your head. And keep your eyes wide open from the very start. Marriage as a commitment, a true commitment, is not one you can just walk away from.