How To Keep Your Marriage Alive

Expecting your marriage to be perfect forever is unrealistic. Every relationship goes through its ups and downs and that is natural if you have been with the same person for several years.  However, you should avoid complacency because that can lead to boredom, and eventually, you may decide to call time on your relationship because of it. Keeping your marriage alive takes a lot of hard work but here are some helpful tips on how to achieve it.

Invest Time in Your Marriage

You may find yourself incredibly busy between work, kids, and household chores. However, when you are in the thick of these things don’t forget that you still have a marriage. Couples can become more like teammates or even housemates when life gets in the way of your relationship, and you should take the time to renew and cherish your relationship.

Schedule in time when you don’t have plans and set a date. You could go and see a movie, go out to dinner, or do something fun together like you did when you first met.  This could be the ideal opportunity to work on your physical intimacy, which will make you feel more connected with each other too.

Remember Important Anniversaries

You may be bogged down with other things but remembering important anniversaries will show that you care about your partner and help to keep your marriage alive. Your anniversary ideas don’t have to be the same every year, as the routine will become stale after a while. Greenvelope’s anniversary ideas don’t have to be expensive, but they will change your routine. They can even help you to design an anniversary card or date night invitation to make your spouse feel extra special.

Find An Activity in Common

A shared activity can be a fantastic way to keep your marriage alive. It gives you something that you can do together and something new to talk about. Finding something new that you both enjoy is exciting and it can give you a new lease of life and having someone to share your new hobby with can make it feel even more special.

Surprise Your Partner

Routines can become boring and can make a relationship seem stale. You should surprise your partner occasionally if you want to keep your marriage alive. This doesn’t have to be an expensive gesture, for example, make breakfast in bed, arrange a picnic, or buy them their favorite sweets to show you care. Your partner will be surprised and happy with your thoughtful gesture and may even start to reciprocate.

Choose The Right Time to Talk

Many marriages are put under strain through lack of communication but finding the right time to talk is important. If you have an issue that you want to discuss, five minutes before they go to work or as their team is about to score the winning goal are not the right times to do it. Choose a time when you are both feeling relaxed and broach the subject. If the issue means a lot to you, it is a good idea to plan what you are going to say first so that you can practice and remember everything you want to say.

Don’t Be Afraid of Conflict

Many couples shy away from conflict for fear of upsetting their spouse and making them angry. This can lead to a lack of communication and resentment that won’t do your marriage any favors. If you want to keep your marriage alive, you should accept that you can’t agree all the time and that conflict is a natural part of any relationship.

Conflict isn’t necessarily an issue; it’s how you deal with the aftermath that really counts. Keeping your marriage alive means that you have to recognize when you are in the wrong and own it. Once you have had a chance to calm down, apologize to your partner and talk things through in a calm, rational manner. You should be able to work together to find a solution that you can both agree on, but it may take you a little while to get there. That’s ok because overcoming conflict together is what marriage is all about.

If your partner feels that they have been in the wrong, then let them apologize. Accept their apology and move on from it. Again, communicate until you come to a satisfactory resolution. This will help you to keep your marriage alive much more than being silent and letting resentment build up ever will.

Many marriages last for decades because the couples involved work hard at it. Nobody ever said that marriage is easy and unlike in the fairy tales, your relationship will not become perfect by magic the minute you say, ‘I do.’ However, with a little effort, you can keep your marriage alive.