6 Resolutions for a Happy Marriage

While resolutions are famously reserved for the beginning of every New Year, when it comes to looking for ways to make a marriage healthier, stronger and ultimately happier, we feel that it’s a goal that should be strived for on a daily basis. (Don’t you?)

Not only that but being that so many articles cite the fact that marriage is becoming obsolete, and also being that nearly half of them (unfortunately) end in divorce, we know it can be easy to get a bit anxious on the days when things aren’t going as well as you’d like. But in the wise words of a woman by the name of Fawn Weaver “’Happily ever after’ is not a fairy tale. It is a choice.” And one of the strongest choices that you could ever make when it comes to your relationship is choosing to make this year the best one that you (and yours) have had thus far!

Resolve to Listen More

At first this was going to say “Resolve to Communicate Better”, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of people do not communicate well in their relationships and it’s all due to one particular thing: poor listening. The next time your spouse says something to you, (internally) ask yourself the following questions: “Do they have my undivided attention?”, “Am I letting them complete their sentences?”, “Does my body language convey that I respect what they are saying, even if I don’t agree with it?” and “Am I taking the time to process what has been said before I react or respond?” You might be surprised how many “nos” you get the first couple of times. Someone once said that the first duty of love is the listen. When it comes to making a marriage a healthy one, perhaps no greater words have ever been spoken.

Resolve to Be Each Other’s Very Best Friend

Shutterstock.com

One of the benefits that comes with being married is that your lover can (and should) be your best friend. And when you’re married to the person who supports you, encourages you and adores you more than anyone else on the entire planet, is there anything that the two of you can’t get through together? Friends don’t always agree. Friends oftentimes have differing needs. Friends sometimes get upset with one another. But friends trust each other so much and are so loyal to one another that it’s almost inconceivable to imagine life without them. Especially when they’re your best friend and ideally, that’s exactly how two married people should feel about each other. If you’re honestly not there yet with your spouse, strive to make that a goal in the upcoming year. Loving someone is awesome. But it’s liking them that can get you through the rough days. Just some food for thought.

Resolve to Get (and Stay) Out of Debt

Shutterstock.com

US News & World Report published an article last year stating that a part of the decline in marriage within the United States may very well be due to the fact that so many couples want to avoid entering into such an important institution in debt; specifically student loan and credit card debt. Without question, debt can put a lot of pressure onto a relationship, especially when you know that your partner’s financial situation can end up directly affecting/infecting your own. So cut up some of those credit cards, open up an emergency savings account, put forth the effort to spend cash only and avoiding financing as much as possible. The less debt you have is the less stress you’ll feel. And that will automatically help to make a marriage feel far less…burdensome.

Resolve to Make More Time for Sex

Being that between 10-20 percent of marriages are considered to be sexless (this speaks to couples who have sex less than 10 times per year), it’s necessary to address the importance of sex in a marriage too. No, it’s not all that a marriage is, but as the Message Version of I Corinthians 6:16(Message) states “There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, ‘The two become one.’” Sex between a husband and wife helps to cultivate their spiritual union while strengthening their emotional bond. Not only that, but there are all sorts of physical benefits that come from having sex including a decrease in stress, better sleep, an increase of burned calories, improved immunity and a stronger heart. Making time for sex can only help your marriage. Please make sure that it’s a priority for you and yours.

Resolve to Take Another Vacation

Shutterstock.com

Earlier this month, Huffington Post ran an article stating that out of 1500 Americans who were interviewed back in 2014, approximately 42 percent of them did not use one vacation day that was allotted to them. This essentially means that they went through an entire year without going on vacation! Although vacations are typically seen as being a luxury, they are actually more of a necessity; especially within a marriage. That’s because vacations provide couples with an opportunity to “get off of the grid” and spend some much needed quality time. This makes it possible for them to reconnect, communication and recharge their intimacy too.

Resolve That You WANT to Be Happy

A misconception that a lot of people have about happiness is you can’t really feel that way unless things are “perfect”. You are not without flaws and neither is your spouse, so there are going to be times that are more challenging than others. But if what you both want is to be content, to experience pleasure and to have joy in your hearts more times than not (which are all definitions of happiness, by the way), that is more than possible. Take things one day at a time and at the end of each week, ask yourself---and each other---if you feel content, if you experienced some level of pleasure and if there were at least moments of joy that you felt. If the answer is “yes”, congrats! You are experiencing a happy marriage. Celebrate it all the way into the following year!