Bad Marriage Advice #19: Relationships are Natural

She said, “I’ve figured out that relationships aren’t natural.”

I smiled and replied, “Where did you get the idea they were?”

She is not alone in that thinking.

To an extent, relationships are natural. But so is breathing and seeing. But things can get in the way of those being normal. A cold. Asthma. Near-sightedness. Glaucoma.

Sometimes you’re aware of the problem and can wait it out, like a cold. Other times it might creep up on you slowly or you don’t realize what’s normal and so you aren’t aware of how bad it is. Like being born near-sighted. Because it’s the way you’ve always seen the world, you don’t know how fuzzy and out of focus things are.

Relationships can be like that too. You do what you know without realizing the consequences. And, because you don’t know anything different, you don’t know there can be anything better.

But every romantic relationship you’ve had before your marriage has ended. If you keep doing the same things you did in those relationships, how will you keep this one from the same fate?
You still see this relationship through your lens. You still have the same emotional triggers. You still engage in the same habits and behaviors.

The relationship language you speak is still the same. The dialect may be different. But the outcome, if you’re not careful or educated, may be the same.

Your overall level of happiness in life is a function of how healthy and successful your relationships are. And your marriage is the most important one.

So what do you need to know or do differently to have a great marriage? What “natural” things about your relationship do you wish were better? What would your wife say?

There are skills and techniques that you can learn and implement to have the marriage you’ve always wanted. What would motivate you to get this knowledge?

If you want to excel at your marriage, then schedule a 5-Star Relationship Consultation today.

around the web this week:

Does Having a Great Relationship Have to be Hard?

One of my least favorite pieces of “advice” is that marriage takes a lot of hard work. No wonder marriage rates are at an all time low. Now this doesn’t mean people aren’t coupling up. And those relationships can be challenging if you don’t know what you’re doing. To be honest, that’s most of us. You will keep making the same mistakes, suffering heartache and wondering if happy, lasting relationships are even possible. The answer is a resounding “yes” according to Intimacy Expert and author Allana Pratt.