Here’s a tip from me and even though you’ve probably heard it before, I’ll try to add some context.
Don’t go to bed angry at each other. Mad? Sure. Frustrated? Quite a lot. But never angry. If you’re at the point that you’re angry, sleeping on it won’t help. Do what you can to stop being angry at your partner, even if that means you sit up all night and talk about it. Plenty of times I’ve stayed up all by myself because my wife didn’t want to talk about it, so I sat up mulling it over until I wasn’t angry anymore.
Don’t forget compliments! Even if they seem insignificant. Especially if they seem insignificant, toss them out. Who doesn’t like hearing that their hair style looks good today, even if it’s the exact same as yesterday!
Finally, they’re your best friend. I don’t know about you, but I like to think that my wife and I can be completely honest with each other. We know each others darkest fears, each other’s highest hopes, and compliment each other to achieve goals. Marriage is a partnership that takes work. You’ve gotta be ready and willing to put in the time and effort. But when you genuinely love the person you’re with, it’s never work. It’s a minor inconvenience.
You’re going to disagree and argue. There’s a healthy way to do this and so many people just don’t do it healthy. Pick your battles. Not everything needs to be “I win” because sometimes losing this battles prepares you for the next few. When you lose( and you will), revenge and pettiness will not be your friends. But they’ll sure call you up and offer assistance. Decline that call every single time.
Finally have fun! I don’t know if you have children, but those little fuckers can totally ruin the friendship and you won’t even see it coming. Best I can offer here is: hope they turn out alright and do everything you can to help them along that path. Some of them are just going to be rotten though. Just remember it’s not your fault and still make time for your partner.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.