A Successful Marriage

My Challenge Today:

A successful marriage …

By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC

A successful marriage is an edifice

that must be rebuilt every day.

~ Andre Maurois

A successful marriage is a big subject and a complex one at best. I am not sure that I should be writing on this subject speaking from my own experience because I have not had the privilege of creating a successful marriage, I am still working on it, like many things in my life. I suppose that is half of the battle right there, the commitment to working on building a successful marriage. One certainly cannot ever attain a successful marriage or anything else without a commitment to doing so, it takes a lot of work from both parties involved and a very solid commitment to doing the hard work when it is necessary.

I have several clients with what I would say are my inspiration couples with a successful marriage, they are happy and have been so for almost 50 years. This does not mean they never experienced challenging times in their life together ~ it does meant they know the benefits of working together in their commitment, they have their priorities in place, their core values are solid and they get professional help with issues when they need it.

Things that I have learned from these amazing couples:

• Always tell the truth to your partner, then you never have to worry about what you have said

• Treat your partner with the same respect that you expect to receive

• Always keep dating, never allow your marriage to get into a rut of sameness

• Hang out with other happy couples, it’s contagious

• Marriage is not easy, it takes work ~ everyday effort

• It’s important to do new things together, keep your relationship fresh

• Marriage changes your friendships, keep your partner at the top of the list

• You must set aside time to ‘work’ on your relationship ~ develop the partnership

• Keep the lines of communication open and clear ~ set time for intentional communication

• Have a ‘reset’ button, a go-to-place that reminds you why you fell in love in the first place

I am sure there are many solutions and strategies to keeping love alive and I invite you to tell us your favorite ways to keep your romance blooming!