Instead of focusing on feelings alone, pragmatically assess a partner by whether they facilitate or hinder your personal and professional ambitions. This isn't about active sabotage, but about fundamental alignment and the friction in your journey towards your goals.
Your partner's characteristics will inevitably influence you. Deliberately choose someone with traits you admire and lack, such as patience or empathy. The combination of your and their traits should create a version of you more capable of achieving your goals.
True compatibility for ambitious people isn't about making sacrifices for each other, but about sharing a fundamental goal alignment. When goals are shared, compromises on the path feel like adjustments, not sacrifices of self, because your core identity remains intact.
To understand a relationship's true impact, conduct a behavioral audit. Compare your core habits—work, exercise, diet, sleep—when you're alone versus with your partner. If your most important routines degrade, the relationship is likely altering your life's outputs for the worse.