How to make a marriage tick? Surviving regardless of the circumstances, be thick and/or thin.
- Celebrate Your Sense of Commitment
Keeping your relationship intact and by eliminating the term “legal separation” not only from your vocabulary but from your subconscious mind as well. A commitment to each other and that’s all there is to it. Honor it through good times and bad.
- Passion Fans the Flames
Partners in long-lasting marriages tend to share a passion for life, as well as for each other. Passion heats things up in a good way. Certain neurotransmitters in the brain spike whether you’re getting fervent over your favorite sports team or your spouse. This produces rushes of dopamine, oxytocin, and vasopressin, which in turn promote feelings of pleasure, trust, and arousal all good things for keeping a marriage going strong. Keep romance alive in your marriage.
- The Importance of Intimacy
This refers to being emotional not just sexual. It’s all about psychological and physical closeness that allows each of you to let your barriers down, something you may not be able to do with another living soul. When both spouses succumb to the rat race, when both work and chase after numerous demands on their time every single day, intimacy can easily be lost unless conscious steps are taken to preserve it. You have to make time for it.
- Forgive Each Other
Forgiveness means more than taking a deep breath in the face of minor transgressions, although that’s important, too. Yes, he always forgets important occasions and he doesn’t understand why they’re so important to you. You can fight over it and ruin those occasions year in and year out, or you can acknowledge that this is the guy you fell in love with and learn to anticipate that he’s not going to remember. Take matters into your own hands. The fix can be as easy as reminding him rather than expecting him to suddenly change. Forgiveness also means that you don’t hang onto past baggage and past pain. Be willing to let go and to move forward with your lives. Accept your differences and don’t try to change your spouse.
- Be Friends
Not just lovers, you’re both best friends, and there’s more to marriage than crisis, adversity, commitment, and passion. Life—and love—involves fun, too. Make sure you share it with each other. Take time to get away together occasionally to laugh, kick up your heels and do something that both of you really enjoy. But keep in mind that 24/7 togetherness can actually be harmful. Everyone needs is or her own space and a little bit of privacy. Respect that and make sure you give it to each other.
