Marriage requires commitment. Daily commitment. Marriage was intended to be for life, for men to love their woman wholeheartedly, and for women to love their man unconditionally. We might mess up those commitments every day, but that doesn’t change the intention of marriage. In a successful marriage, it is important to commit to each other and not be swayed. You must approach your marriage each day as though it is for life. Commitment is the foundation of a solid marriage.
This commitment will anchor you so that your marriage can weather any storm that comes your way. And storms will come. But if you consider these 5 habits of successful marriages, you may find that the storms are easier to go through, together.
5 Habits of Successful Marriages
- Say “I Love You” More
Say the all-important three-worded sentence “I Love You” to your partner every day in the morning and at night. Although it may seem a bit much, these loving words can make a great positive impact on your relationship. These words should come straight from the heart. Only then can your partner feel the emotions related to those loving words. And the feeling behind these words is the most important part of saying them. You want your partner to feel loved and appreciated each day and saying these three little words as often as possible with as much meaning as possible can affirm to them just that.
- Learn How to Truly Communicate with Each Other
I’m sure you’ve heard the line “good communication is essential to a healthy marriage!”. And it’s true. But no one really tells you how difficult it is for a woman and a man to achieve “good communication”. You may talk a lot to each other, especially when you were dating, about any and everything, but the challenge is in the difficulty of communicating and understanding each other’s needs. Communication is all about talking clearly and listening well. It’s about grace and forgiveness and swallowing your need to be right. It’s about taking the time to understand what the other person is saying so you can act upon it.
- Keep Things Fun
If you’ve been together for a long time, it’s important to keep each other excited and make things fun every now and then. This will keep you from getting into a rut with your partner, simply going about day-to-day life without any regard for each other’s needs. Plan a date night together or lean into your partner’s love language every now and then to make them feel loved and appreciated. You know best how to invoke fun into your relationship, this is your reminder to go do something fun for your partner this week.
- Prioritize Intimacy
Both men and women need sex and intimacy. Baggage, expectations, personality, desire, kids, stress, busyness… all of these things contribute to make sex an incredibly complicated activity. But sex is a way to physically express the miracle of marriage – two becoming one. Sex should be fun. It’s a time to connect with your partner emotionally and physically. So get excited about sex and do what you must to make it a priority, even if that means scheduling it in so you’re not too busy or too tired to engage.
- Have a Plan to Deal with Fights
If you wait until the heat of the moment before you ever discuss the “rules of engagement” for your marital discord, you’re setting your marriage up for some hurtful and counterproductive arguments. Why not take a proactive approach and talk about the rules for fighting fair now while you’re both calm and enjoying each other’s company?
Remember, when an argument arises, your goal is to resolve the issue at hand and not to hurt your loved one. A healthy and marriage-oriented style of conflict resolution strives for two winners through compromise and understanding. If your actions are not conducive to resolving the issue at hand, then you are not fighting fair.
Spend some time today establishing the ground rules for future fights. Of course, you know each other better than anyone, so you should know what behaviors and actions should be off-limits to make your disagreements productive. Just don’t fight over it!
Your relationship with your spouse is very individual and only you both know what you want as far as a life together. You are in charge of making your rules and expectations for your relationship. Embodying these habits can make your marriage a powerful one filled with love, adoration, and commitment. This is a refreshing concept in the way people view marriages these days. Only you and your spouse have the ability to make your relationship exactly what you want it to be. You are in charge of your marriage and in meeting your own standards.
Center honesty, faith, commitment, creativity, flexibility, and equality in your marriage to set it up for success. With these habits as well as the desire to create a wonderfully romantic and loving partnership, you can build a marriage that is not only fulfilling and rewarding but a pillar of hope for those looking on, as well.
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