Tamsen Fadal

And we probably all see it with friends.

And I see it over and over with women who feel this pressure.

And the pressure is not imagined.

It's real.

It comes from family.

It comes from culture.

It comes from media, biology, all the social media posts of engagements and babies.

Here's the hard truth.

If you let the timeline choose your partner or anything, you're not going to get a relationship.

You're going to get a deadline dressed up as love.

So you're saying like, OK, how do I break that?

You trade the timeline for a compass.

Instead of racing the clock, you ask, am I moving in the right direction?

Do I feel like I'm moving in the right direction?

Here's what that looks like when it comes to real life actionable practice.

First of all, say no faster.

That timeline makes us drag out situations we already know are wrong, like right into marriage sometimes in my case, because at least it's something, right?

I want you to break the pattern.

If he's not consistent, if he avoids commitment, if you feel like you're smaller around him, if you're changing yourself a little bit, cut it off fast.

Every month you spend trying to turn almost right into right is time you're never going to get back.