Do you have what it takes? Wrong question. The question you should be asking is “Am I willing to do the work?”
Most of us have the ability to be a good partner. Most people think that being a good partner (and amazing person) come naturally for me. Nope. Very few things come naturally for me. My secret is that I work as hard as I possibly can at the things that are important to me. I want my wife to feel loved. That’s important. I went to grad school because I wanted that so much. A big reason I wanted to open our clinic is because I wanted others to have that same opportunity.
You don’t have to go to grad school to be a good partner. But you do have to work harder than everyone else. If you had a difficult upbringing – you probably need to work 3 times harder than everyone else. But it’s possible. You can do it. And the exciting thing is that now we know how. The principles of deliberate practice will show you the way. Here’s a recent Freakonomics podcast that covers the topic.