With 50 per cent of marriages currently ending in divorce in the US, it is now more important than ever to identify and understand what are the crucial components to a happy marriage. In this article, I will be discussing about the 5 top ingredients that every couple need to work on to keep their marriage strong.
1. Good communication
You must have an open communication. This is the most important part of your marriage because keeping secrets from each other will breed mistrust. Communication includes sharing of your thoughts, your fears, your desires and your plans for your future together. Knowing that you are able to tell each other everything creates a bond that makes your relationship stronger.
2. Make sure you find time to be together.
This may seem like an impossible task to contemplate when you are already stretched to the limit and are struggling to split your time between work, children and housework; but it is important for your couple well-being that you spend some quality time with your spouse. It doesn’t have to be long, just 30 minutes a day will do for a start. This is enough time to reconnect with your partner, talk about your day, share a problem or just cuddle together. Being alone together even in this short amount of time will help the intimacy going in your couple. So even if you think your daily schedule is too tight, make it a priority to set aside some time to spend for you and your partner on a regular basis.
3. You must act as a team
Although you might disagree on many things, you need to remember that you are part of a team and therefore you shouldn’t only be concerned about yourself. Think about what’s good for the couple rather than what’s good for you. As a team you need to find ways of deciding things together in order to move forward as a couple. Although there are times when you might not entirely agree with your partner on a certain topic, you will find that you need to compromise to keep the peace. Remember it’s not all about you!
4. Don’t get into the habit of criticizing your partner
Negativity breeds more negativity. If you tend to focus solely on your partner’s negative side and flaws, this in turn will be mirrored in your relationship. Think about it for a minute: do you really expect someone to think the world of you when all you do is constantly criticizing them? I think not! Nobody is perfect, but keeping a positive attitude and focusing on your partner’s good traits rather than the bad, will bring positive energy in your relationship and will make any problems much easier to handle.
5. Be loyal to your partner
Infidelity is amongst the top reasons why many couples divorce. Being committed to your partner means more than not having extra marital affairs. Emotional cheating is just as bad if not worse. There are special things that belong only to your couple and that you and your partner should treasure and cherish. This could be a special place, a song or anything else that is unique to you as a couple and should not be shared with others. Loyalty also means not revealing intimate details of your relationship to others without your spouse’s consent. To your partner this will feel like a betrayal and will damaged your relationship.
Conclusion: a marriage is like a beautiful plant. To grow and prosper it needs a good deal of nurturing and caring. As a couple you need to work hard at keeping connected with your partner emotionally and physically. This means making time to communicate, connect and show your appreciation for each other and ultimately strengthening the bond that keeps your marriage happy.