Seven Hints for a Successful Marriage
Success means different things to different people. When it comes to marriage, however, success generally means a long-lasting and happy marriage. While many parts of marriage come naturally, it’s acceptable (and even expected) to put regular work into creating happiness and ensuring a long life together. Whatever the specifics of your marriage – whether you are straight, gay or even a May-December relationship – several hints apply across the board.
Other People Are Reading
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Mindset
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Don’t believe that divorce is an option. The writers of “Project Everlasting” told MSNBC, when you see divorce as an option, couples leave an “out” for themselves, escaping problems through divorce rather than quickly solving them in the name of a peaceful marriage.
Do Good
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Whether they mean to or not, people in relationships tend to create an “emotional bank account,” according to the Bluegrass Marriage Initiative from the University of Kentucky. Healthy couples try to “deposit,” rather than “withdraw.” To keep your marriage successful, perform little kindnesses regularly.
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Disagree Respectfully
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Two people can’t agree on everything. Instead, two people can make the commitment to disagree respectfully. This means listening to the other partner, hearing this person’s desires and needs, and finding a way to compromise between the two viewpoints.
Romance, Romance, Romance
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Date nights keep romance in a marriage. From the beginning, keep the romance in your relationship. While many people consider the word “love” as a mood, keep “love” an action. Every week, find a babysitter and go on a date. If the predictable bores you, make date night a game to do new, interesting things.
Relationships Need Solitude
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Give yourself alone time to process things that happen within your relationship. Go for a walk when things get stressful (before you fight). Even better, give yourself regular alone time to maintain your composure and de-stress.
Identify Elsewhere
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While a relationship can bring a great deal of joy to a person’s life, don’t identify with your marriage. No relationship is perfect, so it does not serve you or the relationship if you are only happy when the relationship goes well.
Laugh
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Focus on keeping the humor in your relationship. Laugh at the little stresses and how seriously you take them. Laughter can help relieve the stress of potentially dangerous marriage problems. This doesn’t imply a mocking laugh, but laughter that comes from joy.
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Resources
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