I'm going to give you three steps for before dating and even once you start. If you stick to this you will avoid wasting time and much heartache.

Step 1: Learn yourself. Find out who you are as an individual. Learn your mind, learn your emotions and the roots behind your emotions. Learn your purpose in life. Perfect your hobbies, step into the process that lead you to your purpose.

After you learn yourself, after you've developed your purpose and learned to love you then you're ready to connect with someone else and love them. Once you've found that person pay attention to them and learn them early on so that you'll know if they fit into your life. (I say learn them early on so you will not waste years with someone just later realize they are not the person for you)

Step 2: Communication. Learn to communicate in all forms of relationships. Practicing with your siblings, parents and or cousins will perfect your ability to have an ear to hear the good as well as the bad. See Communication with your future spouse will not always only consist of him telling you how great you are. It will sometimes be him explaining the hurt you give him. So, practice this now with family so that you will be able to hear these things and not close yourself off. You'll know how to listen to him and try to understand him.

Step 3: Prayer. The ability to seek God for your relationship is not the least of these steps. But, it is in fact the most important one. You have to pray to learn who you are. You have to pray to find your purpose. And pray for the future man that will be in your life. Even the ones that dont lead to marriage. Prayer will allow you to see their purpose for coming into your life for that moment in time.