88% of Americans cited love as an essential reason to get married. While we may know the reason people get married, we don’t know the secret to a long and loving marriage.
Is it more than love that keeps two people married for 10 to 60 years?
The secret is it’s a lot more than love. There’s a commitment to each other that’s reflective of love, but also so much more.
Here are 5 requirements for a long and loving marriage.
1. Learn From Conflicts
One of the secrets to a long and loving marriage is learning to move past arguments.
Every married couple argues, there’s no denying that. But the key is to learn from your conflicts. Learn how to talk about past conflicts.
A spouse should be reflective of another person’s perspective, especially their spouses. You have to listen to each other and take into consideration their point of view even if you don’t agree with it.
Marriage counseling is a great way to talk about conflicts and how to handle them as a couple.
2. Accept Each Other
Another secret to a long and loving marriage is learning to accept each other.
Everyone has quirks about them. They become more evident in marriage when you constantly see the other person.
But marriage is about accepting the other person’s shortcomings. Your spouse may have trouble with patience or have character-traits you don’t like.
he goal is to work through it together by talking about it and learning to accept each other.
3. Know Marriage Is Hard Work
Marriage is hard work. It’s not all rosy.
You have to learn to be open and talking with your marriage partner. It’s not about winning arguments or being a better spouse.
You have to learn how to work together toward a common goal.
4. Commit to Growing With Each Other
Working together toward a common goal takes commitment. You have to learn to commit to each other’s goals.
Commit to helping each other. An example would be committing to hanging out with each other once a week without kids. It’s spending quality time together.
5. Share a Hobby
Spending quality time together should involve a hobby. You can enjoy bike rides together. Maybe you both are food junky’s and love trying new food.
Whatever the hobby is, it’s important that you share a common hobby together.
A hobby gives both spouses an opportunity to do something fun together without worrying about finances, kids, or other obligations that can make marriage more challenging.
You have to enjoy the fun parts of marriage.
A Long and Loving Marriage Takes Work
There will always be arguments and difficulties in any marriage. That’s why it takes hard work.
You have to grow and learn from each other in a marriage. You have to be willing to compromise. A loving marriage is more than just about yourself, it’s about listening and being there for the other person.
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