Healthy Marriage, Love Is Not Enough

Love can indeed make your marriage happy. But unfortunately, love alone is not enough to make a marriage last and achieve goals. It takes a lot of effort and sacrifice to foster a healthy marriage. Marrying someone for love alone without realizing that he is not good or less intelligent might be called romantic. There is no perfect human being, but in the long run, this decision could be a disaster, you know. Many marriages begin with love, but end in separation. This is because marriage is really an emotional test and a test of life skills. The problem is, life skills are not taught and trained. So that not a few who fail while undergoing exams in marriage, even though married for love.

Why Is Love Not Enough?

However, a happy and harmonious marriage in the long run cannot be achieved only by love. The two main reasons are:

Marriage is not just about romance

Marriage is not merely a romantic relationship between two people. There are many needs and responsibilities that must be met in the household, and one of them is the economy. In fostering households, it takes a lot of costs, for example for daily needs and children's education.

Love is not stable

Feelings of love are emotions that can vary in intensity. Though marriage demands stability, routine, and long-term nature. This makes a marriage that only relies on love will lead to disappointment.

Keeping Marriage, Needs Effort

According to one study, couples who succeed in marriage are those who have applied the principles below. When reading it, ask yourself do you already have that ability? Are there things that still need to be fixed? What makes it difficult for you to do certain things?

1. Ability to manage emotions

You and your partner need to have the ability to recognize and convey emotions directly, and of course in a positive way. In addition, you and your partner also need to manage emotions before these emotions have a detrimental impact, both to yourself and others. Look for the most effective way to calm yourself and your partner. If necessary, ask for help from a psychologist or psychiatrist.

2. Recognize your needs

A healthy marriage starts from the ability of each to recognize their needs, such as sports to maintain physical health, or time for themselves and socializing with friends. A healthy marriage must be based on a strong sense of trust and willing to compromise on these matters.

3. Recognize the needs of a partner

In addition to knowing your own needs, you also of course need to recognize the needs of your partner. You need to be there when he needs your support, and realize that your actions can also affect your partner. Simple things like saying thank you to your partner, or apologizing when doing wrong is also an important part in it.

4. Protect marriage

Don't let interference from work or unfavorable experiences from each family affect your marriage relationship. Build closeness, but at the same time provide flexibility for couples to still have privacy. In addition, the presence of children should also strengthen the relationship between husband and wife, not even make distance.

5. Make marriage comfortable

Marriage should be a comfortable place for each partner to express their emotions, as well as a place to find peace, share laughter, grow, and provide mutual support. Don't be discouraged if you and your partner still don't know and understand each other well. Marriage is a process of learning and growing together. Although love alone is not enough to build a healthy marriage, a love for a partner can encourage the desire to be better, and maintain a marriage when a conflict arises. If it is difficult to get a bright spot when facing problems in the household, you and your partner can undergo marriage counseling with a psychologist. In the counseling session, the psychologist will listen to the problem objectively and suggest some tips that can help maintain your household.