Recipe For A Happy Marriage - Keeping It Strong And Thriving

Even though each state requires a couple in love to sign a marriage contract, do not look at your marriage as a contract agreement. Instead, look at your marriage as a fine wine, it gets better with age. We always hear about a couple working this fifty-fifty agreement. This is not how a marriage is supposed to work. Who ever came up with this idea probably did not stay married forever.

Marriage is a 100% effort for the couple as a whole. Once the wedding is over, this is when the marriage begins and when people start to search for the recipe for a happy marriage. During the life of a marriage, couples will more likely than not, face almost everything they spoke out loud in their marriage vows: to have and to hold, from this day forward, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part". These vows, or contract, are not to be entered into lightly. Almost all marriages will have its challenges and trials. Sure, we all enter into a marriage with bliss and love. Otherwise, why would a couple marry in the first place?

Now that a couple have been married a while, it is time to find ways to sustain their marriage.

Although each couple has different views on this recipe, here are a few things you can try:

Communication is Key

With so many self help shows on the airwaves, it has been reiterated over and over that the number one reason for a marriage break up is lack of communication. For the most part, men think more on a technical level, where as women think more in an emotional level. This does make 'talking' to each other a challenge in and of itself. Even with different viewpoints in marriage, both spouses should be giving each other undivided attention when speaking to each other. Communication in all marriages is vital to their survival. It is important to use communication to learn new things about each other, have each other thoughts and feeling respected, to deal with issues bothering the both of you and to stay connected.

Changing Your Spouse will not Work

If you enter into a marriage thinking your spouse will be changed, think again. From birth, the way we are wired is already set in motion. The person you have married is the way they will always be. This is why having a semi long courtship is a good idea. During a semi long courtship, the both of you will probably see sides, good or bad, that will be more prevalent during the course of the marriage. The recipe for a happy marriage is to know the person inside and out before taking vows and then accept them for who they are.

Set Regular Date Nights

Whether you have children or not, do not forget to share time together outside your home. This means, go on a date at least once a week or once a month. It does not take much to go on a date. The cost of living has unfortunately increased, but a married couple can still go for walks in a park, at the beach or along a hiking trail. All these dates do not cost anything. If your home gets coupons to popular eateries, you can buy one full price meal and get the other half price. Going out to eat for a date never gets old.

Marriages are sacred and should be treated as such. The reason for getting married was the love and romance between the both of you. Remember the vows you spoke to each other and know your marriage will be tested. Being tested only makes a marriage stronger and a way to thrive. There are many different ways out there to help with your marriage, but noted above is a basic recipe for a happy marriage.

If all else fails, you can seek help through many different resources. Before seeking marriage counceling, you might want to try working it out through a specialized program. One such program that I recommend is called: Save My Marriage Today. This is a program that I have used in the past to help with my marriage and I found it to work rather well. My husband and I were on our way to see a therapist when I found this while surfing online for things we could try. We decide to give this a shot first. I'm glad we did and we have yet to see a therapist.