I always felt in past relationships that I was "settling" when the relationship had become very comfortable, but ultimately unfulfilling. What I mean by this is the question of whether your partner helps you move toward your life goals and desired lifestyle or if they somehow stiffle your potential to be happy in other areas of life (e.g. one partner wants adventure, while the other wants stability).

People on the outside may wonder why you would stick by a relationship that is so limited/limiting, but the comfort part means you can go on together forever until one of you makes the effort to end it. It is different to other dysfunctional relationships where there are too many explosive dynamics in the relationship that effortlessly drive the couple apart.

I have prevented myself from "settling for less" by ending a relationship with a man who I truly loved, but knew in my heart of hearts I would end up resenting because I would have sacrificed all I wanted in life just to be with him.

"Settling for less" can also refer to commiting to a person just because you feel like you can't do any better. I know a woman who has settled for someone she doesn't really love. When I asked her why she stayed with him, she said that years of dating and on-and-off relationships with this man led her to conclude that she will not find anyone better. This feeling is usually compounded by age, hence the statement "I'm not getting any younger".