How to Build Team Work in Your Marriage
Long after you open the piles of gifts, eat the butter cream frosted cake and wave farewell to your wedding guests, you and your spouse are left with one another. Your marital journey is an adventure that, with proper teamwork and communication, can be the greatest experience of your life. Whether you're newly married or you've been together for decades, you likely understand that a good marriage takes pruning and effort in order to develop unified teamwork that brings you and your spouse closer than ever.
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Instructions
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Date each other. You might be married, but dating is an important part of making your relationship stronger. It's easy to overlook the necessity of romance and alone time when your lives get busy. Children, work, church commitments and extracurricular activities often crowd schedules, leaving the possibility of free time in the dust. Schedule a date once every week or, if it's easier, every other week. Even if you only have time to be alone for an hour or two, write it on your calendar and commit to spending that time alone together. You can go out to dinner, see a movie or just sit alone in your room to talk or rest together.
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Practice honest communication. Be truthful with your spouse. It might seem obvious, but little white lies often lead to greater, more complicated ones. For example, it's easy to lie about how much money you spent at the store or where you spent your afternoon. Take a deep breath and be truthful with your spouse, even if it's difficult. Your relationship will be stronger in the long run for it. If you experience a personal struggle, your spouse can be your greatest helper in overcoming that obstacle, but you have to be truthful.
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Discuss your expectations. Whether it's what you hope to achieve in the next five years, what you need your spouse to do around the house or whether you want your spouse to work outside the home, share your expectations with one another. Your spouse can't know you want him to take out the trash if you don't tell him. You might have grown up in a home where the woman did all of the laundry, but your wife might not know you want this unless you explicitly tell her. Discuss your expectations for your children, as well as for each other. For example, maybe your spouse expects your children to clean their plates from the table after each meal. Talk about this as a way to grow closer and share these expectations with your children.
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References
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