Married Life

Marriage is hard work. One of the fundamental factors of a successful marriage is commitment. When both partners are committed to the relationship and seeing it through, they become a team that faces challenges together.

When any marriage faces difficulty, it can be hard to keep the vision of the commitment. This vision may be the difference between a failed marriage and a successful marriage.

Here are some ideas about creating a marriage that will survive through difficult times.

Principles:

Adjust your attitude toward your marriage, if you want it to succeed. A key to a successful marriage is both partners being committed to the relationship. If either one of the partners is willing to entertain the possibility that the relationship will not be succeed, the marriage faces a real possibility of failure. Commit to the marriage and be willing to do whatever it takes for it to thrive and succeed.

Sacrifice where necessary for the good of the marriage. Marriage is a dance of give and take. When both partners are giving to each other out of real love and devotion to meet the needs of each other, both partners will have their needs met. Instead of seeking to have your own needs met, seek to meet the needs of your partner. In this way, each partner will be caring for the other in the marriage.

Communicate your feelings respectfully. When you have issues, thoughts, or feelings that come up, they need to be discussed and dealt with as they occur. Do not allow situations to fester and simmer. When something needs to be discussed, do it before it becomes a worse situation. When negative feelings are not addressed, they turn into bitterness. Bitterness is poison to any relationship and must be avoided at all costs.

Listen to your partner when she needs to communicate. Try to listen and really hear instead of reacting. This takes practice, but it is well worth doing.

Trust your partner, and in turn be trustworthy. Trust is an integral component in a relationship. If there is mistrust, there can never be real comfort and companionship. Commit to being a partner who should be trusted, and hope that your partner develops the same mindset.

Seek help if problems seem insurmountable. If the problems just seem too big, yet the commitment and desire is there, you have everything to gain by seeking outside help to get guidance. It can be insightful to receive an outsider's opinion about the dynamics of a marriage. Work through any issues with the aid of someone who is trained to help couples.

Source: family contribution centers