How to live a happy married life

A happy marriage doesn’t just arrive because you say “I do.” It takes effort from husband and wife to make it work. Here are six tips to help make it the most rewarding relationship you will ever have.

In business, companies are only as successful as their leaders are. If a company has an ineffective leader, it’s ineffective. Take the example of Continental Airlines. They were considered the worst major airline in the United States at the end of the 1980s. However, in 1994 they hired Gordon Bethune as President, and by the year 2000 they were the best airline in the US (see From Worst to First by Gordon Bethune).

That turnaround happened because of leadership. Likewise families are only as successful as their leaders are. As parents, we lead our families. Now we can’t fire children, but we can make sure that we are functioning well at the top.

A happy marriage doesn’t just arrive because you say, “I do.” Instead, it takes effort from both husband and wife to make it work. Nevertheless, with some work and a lot of understanding, it can be the most rewarding relationship you will ever have. Where do you start? In the vast sea of relationship advice, it can be hard to know what the most important things are. We will share just five things that have mattered the most in our marriage.

Put the other first......................

Not second behind you. Not behind your children. Especially not behind your parents. First. That starts with putting aside or scaling back on some things that may have taken a lot of time before you were married, such as movies, sports, spending time with friends instead of your spouse, and video games. We know that can seem hard. At the same time, it quickly becomes second nature and more and more enjoyable. Sure, we still do enjoy some individual pursuits, and it’s healthy to do so. However, we never put the other second. One small thing we do in this area is whenever we are sharing something tasty, we always give the other person the first bite, the best bites, and the last bite. It is an easy way to show the other person that you care about their happiness/enjoyment more than your own.