7 Steps to a Healthy Relationship
Marriage issues can be very complicated. But there are ways to keep positivity in your relationship and help you make it through difficult situations. In order to maintain a positive relationship, use these 7 tips:
1. It’s helpful to consistently keep your marriage positive where possible. remind yourself that your relationship is an important aspect of your life and give it the attention it needs and deserves. Ask yourself if you’re giving it enough time and energy
2. Focus on the positives – what do you like about your partner. Try to talk through the negatives. Focus on the positives and you’ll have more of them. Try not to criticise your partner and instead think about what makes you happy about them. It’s easy to forget the good times within the relationship. Think back about the fun times in the early days and how you might rekindle that fun.
3. Kindness matters. Often people treat those closest to them the worst, even worse than strangers. Go the extra mile and do something for them that you wouldn’t normally do without any expectations. It’s so easy for our partner to take the full force of our anger because they feel the safest person to do this with. We keep a lid on our resentments within our outward life using our partners as ways to offload. Remembering to be kind to each other is important in remaining friends
4. Show appreciation for them and make a habit of it. You’ll find you’re happier if you do so. Something as simple as saying ‘you have a nice smile’ can make all the difference. Bringing some romance back to our relationship is important. Taking time out to notice nice things about our partner and letting them know helps them feel noticed and wanted by their partner.
5. Ask for what you want. People aren’t mind readers and you’re in for a shock if you think people are. If you have needs and want them to be met, then you must tell them what these are. Communication is essential in maintaining a healthy relationship. Saying what’s on our mind in a calm manner stops anger building up which brings on passive-aggressive or aggressive behaviour
6. Listen without judgment. Be open to other opinions which may be just as valid as your own. Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s wrong. By being defensive you’re building walls and stopping the love. It’s important if a partner is trying to express feelings and emotions that its heard and regarded by the other
7. Open your heart and let your spouse in. Relationships can last many years with walls built between the couple but if you want a marriage to flourish, you’ll need to break down those walls.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive, but it will provide the foundations for a healthy relationship.