If you call yourself happily married, this is one of the traits that your marriage is a successful one. We all know how difficult it is to maintain relationships, especially marriages. It involves a lot of hard work and compromise. But there are some characteristics of successful marriage that are always there and that is what we will discuss today.
Being able to maintain a successful marriage even after the rollercoaster ride that it takes you on, is commendable. So, what are the characteristics of a successful marriage? According to a UCLA study, couples who agree to share chores at home are more likely to be happier in their relationships1. Well we are definitely not denying that. But there are a whole lot of things they must be doing right.
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A happy marriage exudes a glow of togetherness, laughter and intimacy that is apparent the moment you meet a happy couple. There are some elements of a successful marriage that are apparent to the eye and some we don’t get to see but definitely exist. We have found out the 12 characteristics of successful marriage that makes a relationship tick. What are those?
Keeping that promise of Till Death Do Us Apart is very rare and if you think you have it, then cherish it. Some people say that a perfect marriage doesn’t exist. A perfect or a successful marriage depends on the couple and their will to make it a successful one.
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12 Characteristics Of A Successful Marriage
There is no marriage that doesn’t have fights, drama and separation. All marriages do, in fact, there are common issues that all couples fight about.
The real key is that even after all those lows, how many couples are willing to give it a try. That’s what a successful marriage is about. So what exactly is a successful marriage? To help you better, here are 12 characteristics of a successful marriage. Focus on having them in your marriage, and life will be blissful.
1. They sit and resolve issues together
All married couples have arguments and misunderstandings. One of the characteristics of a successful marriage is keeping an open communication flow between the two.
Couples that sit down together and resolve their issues instead of letting things get more complicated are more likely to be happier in their marriage.
Having healthy discussions and listening to each other’s point of view is one of the characteristics of a successful marriage.
2. They support each other
Married couples can have different professional goals. They may not belong to the same professional background, nor may one partner have much knowledge about the type of work that his/her spouse does.
What matters is how much both support each other’s goals and lift each other up instead. Couples in a successful marriage motivate each other and work together towards achieving other’s goals. Being happy at your spouse’s success is one of the most important characteristic of the 12 characteristics of a happy marriage.
They become the wind beneath each other’s wings.
3. They know what they want in future
Couples in a successful marriage have a clear view of where they see themselves in the future. They discuss about their future together and have a clear picture of how they will be spending their life together.
This is also an outcome of clear communication. Taking decisions about the future together is a sign of a healthy marriage. They plan their future together which includes the investments, the buying of a house, the time of retirement and keeping aside money in case the children need it for their education.
They make travel plans together after retirement and decide on where you want to settle in your old age.
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4. There’s a strong foundation of trust
Trust is the foundation of every relationship. Marriages that are built on the pillars of trust are very difficult to shake. When both spouses trust each other, there’s automatically a sense of understanding between the two. This leads to lesser misunderstandings and fights over trust issues.
When you both trust each other, you tend to share more with one another and this brings you both even closer. Trust is a pillar in the 12 characteristics of a successful marriage
5. They are best friends first
Being best friends is one of the characteristics of marriage. Only when you both are best friends and confide in each other, are you able to be yourselves. In a marriage, spouses who are best friends rely on each other and share almost everything.
They share their deepest darkest fears with one another and also their happiest moments. Aren’t they the happiest married couples?
They can tell each other anything without thinking for once what the other person will think. There is no fear, doubt or insecurity in the relationship. It flows like a river.
6. They compromise for one another
A major characteristic of marriage is compromise. In a successful marriage, both spouses make each other their priority and compromise for each other. It is about making each other happy and respecting their needs. Only when this compromise doesn’t feel like a burden is it successful.
Adjustment after marriage is the most normal thing and in the first year f marriage itself you realise how you need to adjust. Both partners leave some and gain some in a successful marriage. They don’t crib and complain about the small sacrifices instead they appreciate and respect each other for that.
7. They respect each other
Spouses who respect each other’s opinions and decisions are more likely to be happy in the marriage. Equality is one of the keys to respecting your spouse. When you treat your spouse equally and make them an equal part of your decisions, you both respect each other more. Respecting your spouse is one of the essential traits of a happy couple.
8. They forgive each other
Spouses are bound to make mistakes in a marriage. Some mistakes can be small like not spending enough time, giving work more priority, etc. while some mistakes can be big such as cheating on your spouse. As human beings, we are bound to make mistakes.
Sometimes, one of the spouses make a huge mistake and it’s on the other one to decide what to do about it. At that point of time they have a choice – to forgive or to end the marriage.
Couples who have forgiven their partners and given them another chance are proven to be happier in the marriage.
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9. They always keep the spark going
When they were in their 30s to their 60s, they still have the spark going. Such couples always know how to spice their relationship up and keep the spark going.
For couples, the most crucial elements of a successful marriage are the elements that keep the marriage going, one of them being love. Couples in a successful marriage never fall out of love. If they do, they always find a way back to each other.
Ups and downs in a marriage are inevitable but the basic characteristic of a successful marriage is the way a couple deals with the ups and downs and in the process how they make their marriage stronger.
10. They grow together
No relationship or marriage is perfect. The more you invest in the marriage, the more you grow together. Relationships take time to evolve and get stronger over time. Holding grudges of the past will only hold your marriage back and poison it more.
Only when both spouses are willing to learn from their mistakes and grow together in the marriage, are they able to move past it and focus on building a future together.
11. Persistence and Commitment
In marriages, there are many lows that will keep taking place. At times, you will feel like giving up on the marriage and lose faith in each other. At that time, those couples who are persistent and keep working hard to save their marriage are the ones that are able to overcome the obstacles in the marriage.
Giving up in a marriage is the easy way out. If you really want a long, successful marriage, persistence is a characteristic of marriage that both spouses need to have. Both spouses need to be committed to the marriage.
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12. They appreciate each other
This the 12th point in our 12 characteristics of a successful marriage but this is the most important one. Spouses in a successful marriage always acknowledge each other’s efforts.
They appreciate each other and try their best to share responsibilities and work together as a team. Appreciating each other helps in boosting each other’s morale and spouses feel loved and happy that their efforts are being acknowledged by you.
If the above characteristics of a successful marriage made you smile thinking about your marriage, it shows that you’re having a pretty successful marriage so far. It is important to be consistent, committed and keep an open flow of communication between the two of you.
Instead of holding grudges, find a solution to the problem and sort things out. There’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Always remember that you both are human beings and are bound to make mistakes. How you deal with it and work towards making your marriage successful is what counts.
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FAQs
A marriage is strong when spouses have a level of understanding where even if they don’t speak they can communicate. They achieve a different level of communication and are willing to support each other, be it in house chores or career aspirations.
The three key elements are trust, mutual respect and communication that make a relationship very successful and strong in the long run.
They elements of a strong relationship are when the couple hold each other’s hand through the toughest times and they don’t look at compromises as sacrifices. They do everything with love.
Any relationship should be built on a strong foundation of trust, respect, commitment, understanding, support and in the end comes love. Dollops of it. These are few of the characteristics of the 12 characteristics of successful marriage.
