How to Create a Successful Marriage

Video Transcript

"We're working on our long term relationship skills today, and we're talking about how to build a successful marriage. My name is Joe Cuenco, I'm with Family Resources, and today we're going to be talking about the details about how to create a successful marriage. We really need to understand that people change over time. So are we willing to grow and adapt with the person that we are with? Of course there are key fundamentals. You have to have fundamental love, you have to have fundamental trust, respect, friendship and communication. If these things don't exist, then chances are you're going to have a real tough time building something long term. And I would suggest that if you need work in those dimensions, that you attend a marriage education workshop or visit with some professional to help you understand how to build those relationship fundamentals. The other thing is the way that you really approach relationship partnership. Successfully married couples have indicated that there's three legs of a stool. There is you, there is me, and a third leg is the marriage. In order to treat the marriage as the most important leg, they really have a self sacrificing position in that we are both important, but the relationship and the marriage is the most important thing and that should be the primary consideration. So if you think about the marriage as being the primary consideration, or the most important thing in a relationship, people have a tendency to look less selfishly about things and think longer term. You need to be aligned on your goals, your day to day management of the household. Are you still doing special things for one another? You really need to take time to treat one another almost like you did when you were dating. Married people need that. They need special time for one another and they also need balance and agreement. There's common interests, there are shared interest and there's time that each individual needs to themselves and with the family. So and that is if you give more of yourself, you're going to receive more at the end of the day and that is what you want to build to. A relationship that lasts a lifetime. I'm Joe Cuenco for Family Resources, relationships for life."