How can you have a happy and long-lasting marriage? If you are planning to marry someone soon or if you are already married and you want to ensure the happiness and success of your marriage, here are 20 ways to help you and your spouse live a happy married life.
1. Marry the right person.
If you’re already married, escape to the next item. However, if you’re still single and you want to have a happy marriage in the future, marry someone whom you will cherish your love with for the rest of your lives as husband and wife no matter what. Remember that marriage is a lifetime commitment. Hence, you should be fully prepared when you decide to tie the knot.
Here are two articles with lots of tips to guide you:
12 Signs He’s the Guy You Should Marry According to the Bible
20 Signs She’s the Woman You Should Marry According to the Bible
2. Be thankful and content.
Envy will make your marriage sad and terrible. Hence, stop being envious of other people. Accept the imperfections in your partner, relationship, and yourself. Focus on the goodness and blessings in your life – and be grateful for having them.
3. Have a selfless self.
Prioritize the happiness of your spouse and children. Even if you forget to make yourself happy, eventually, you will feel happier to see the joy and laughter of your family. This is because their happiness naturally becomes your happiness too.
4. Exercise together.
Exercise scientifically makes us happy. Research suggests that exercise can boost dopamine, an organic chemical that functions as a hormone and a neurotransmitter in the brain which is necessary for creating feelings of pleasure, reward, and happiness. Doing regular exercise also improves your performance in the bedroom, which is important in achieving a healthy and intimate relationship.
5. Have a healthy diet.
Buy healthy food groceries. Escape the cigarettes. Avoid too much meat and alcoholic beverages. If you do them, you will have a healthy family, you will avoid sickness, you will save money on medical expenses, and you will be happy.
6. Have privacy.
The meddling of your parents, parents-in-law, and relatives in your marriage can cause stress and problems in your lives as a married couple. To prevent this, settle your own family in a house that is separate from your parents and parents-in-law. Of course, they can always visit your place or vice versa any time of the year.
7. Bless your home.
Always bless your home to enjoy God’s blessings. To bless your home, always practice justice, morality, and righteousness.
“The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. – Proverbs 3:33 ESV
ALSO READ: How to Bless Your Home According to the Bible
8. Be truthful.
If you are honest and true to your words, you will not commit cheating because you will do everything to fulfill your promises. When you’re truthful, your spouse will also trust you naturally and easily. Your partner will not have doubts and insecurities. Your marriage will be happier for sure.
9. Don’t force your spouse to change.
If you don’t like something in your husband or wife, be it an attitude or habit, don’t force them to change. You will just make them feel judged and it might only result in endless fights and arguments, making your marriage unhealthy. Instead, be a role model to inspire them the change you want to see in them. It’s up for them to change themselves. Just be there to give them support and inspiration.
10. Always care for your spouse.
Help your partner do the household chores. Wake up early to cook a healthy breakfast for your wife. Pick her up from her office every day after tiring work. Nurse your husband when he’s sick. Give him a gentle massage to feel relaxed and be stress-free. Always be thoughtful and show how much you care for your spouse.
11. Swallow your pride.
Be humble. Admit that you’re not always right. Admit your mistakes and sincerely ask for forgiveness. With humility, there will simply be more peace and happiness in your marriage.
ALSO READ: 7 Ways to be Humble in a Relationship
12. Listen to your spouse’s mouth, mind, and heart.
It will give you more opportunities to know your spouse better and understand them deeper. And if you listen with a compassionate heart, you will also feel what’s in their heart. If you can feel their joy and sadness, you will know how to maintain their happiness and keep them away from sorrow.
Moreover, when you start listening, you also stop nagging. When there is no nagging, your marriage will have more peace and harmony.
13. Be patient no matter what.
No matter how difficult life is, no matter how long you have to wait for the good things to come, and no matter how far apart the two of you are, as long as you always have patience, you will not lose happiness in your marriage. Patience is a virtue that makes you stronger and blissful even in the middle of trials and problems in your relationship.
14. Be hopeful and see a brighter future.
Don’t tell your spouse they are hopeless or consider yourself hopeless. If there are problems that are breaking your marriage down, learn how to fight for your partner, yourself, and your marriage. Do not jump to conclusions, but always look for a brighter future. If you’re tired from today, get rest and fight for tomorrow.
15. Be faithful and create a brighter future.
Do something to ensure that the good future you see in your marriage will be realized. Marriage should not only be about hoping but also about doing something or even everything to ensure that you will get what you hope for.
In other words, have actions in your faith. Do you want to have a stronger, long-lasting, and successful marriage? Don’t just imagine it, but work for it. Work yourself out to be a loyal, responsible, honest, and loving life partner.
ALSO READ: 11 Ways to Remain Faithful in a Relationship
16. Truly forgive your spouse.
If your spouse has committed sins and you have forgiven them already, then do not bring them out again just to win an argument. If your heart can forgive but it cannot forget, then it cannot forward. Better not forgive your spouse than give them a fake forgiveness. A happy marriage doesn’t only need a sincere apology, but also a sincere forgiveness. Hence, learn how to forgive and forget.
17. Love your spouse completely.
Love your better half without fear of not being loved in return. Love your husband without fear of being hurt or cheated in the future. Love your wife without fear of losing her. Stop playing safe in your marriage. Marriage is neither a game nor a competition. It is a union of two souls who have made a vow to love and cherish each other, not compete with each other.
To be truly happy in your marriage, have the courage to love your wife or husband without reservations. It is only when you give pure and true love that you will realize how joyful it is to love someone in your life.
18. Ask for help from above.
We are humans. We have limitations. We are not all all-knowing and all-powerful. Thus, we need guidance and help from God. To achieve happiness in your relationship, pray for the healing of your broken heart so that you may forgive your spouse, seek for wisdom to make the best decisions in your marriage, and ask for strength and courage to overcome the challenges in your relationship.
Conclusion
You should not only wish for a happy marriage but you have to work for it. It’s not just hoped for but it’s also created. That is why it needs your faith which is manifested by your works or actions. It also needs your pure love – a love that you courageously give without expecting something in return. Finally, when you have already done everything but it seems that you are still falling short, don’t forget that God is always here for you to help your marriage and family when your best efforts seem not enough.
ALSO READ: 32 Tips to Have a Long-Lasting Marriage
Online courses recommended for you:
- How to Become a Good and Godly Husband:
how to love your wife in the ways she feels your love. - Love & Connection: The Science of Successful Relationships:
this course will show you how to examine the unknown path that you’ll travel with your spouse, and carefully evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your relationship. - Rules of Engagement: Fair Fighting for Marriage [Vol 1-3]:
Understand How Conflicts Work, Navigate Them Better & Make Them Work to Your Advantage in Marriage
