I often get clients in my office, or even friends, for that matter, who ask me, “What are the keys to a successful marriage?” I can remember asking that very same question myself before I married my husband. If you ask the older generation, the response is usually “good communication, love, trust, etc.” However, after working with several couples and conducting several interviews, I came up with this list of 10 modern, essential keys to success in your marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are 10 essential lessons that’ll make your marriage last forever:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Respect your marriage and take it seriously<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is big. If the marriage is going to work, both partners need to respect the marriage<\/a>. You simply can’t have people in your circle who don’t respect your marriage. Furthermore, you need to take your marriage seriously. I’m sure you didn’t get married as a joke, did you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Keep your marriage fun<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop sulking and start living \u2014 liven up that dull marriage. Go have fun<\/a>, and have lots of intimacy! You didn’t get married to become a washed-up prude. Marriage doesn’t mean that you stop having fun or stop being an individual. Now you have a life partner with whom you can have DOUBLE the fun with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Remember that being intimate is not optional<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intimacy in marriage is a requirement. Throw your inhibitions out the window and spice things up. If you’re bored, there’s an app for that! If you’re no longer interested, there are ways to bring the hotness back into your marriage. Whatever you do, don’t stop being intimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Withholding intimacy as a punishment is a recipe for disaster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll both just end up mean and grumpy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Communicate <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Communication is very important<\/a> in a marriage. Talk to your partner. Trust me, they don’t know what you’re thinking \u2014 even when you think they should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n