A study by the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) investigated the most common reasons that people get divorced. If you are married and prefer to stay married, you can use their findings to take positive action.
Here is what you can do, to enhance the chances of your marriage lasting:
- Be willing to put the work: Too many people think marriage is the end goal, that once you are married, you have your partner for life. Marriage requires constant work for it to succeed, day after day.
- Stay faithful: You cannot expect to have a happy exclusive union between two people if you do not respect that exclusivity. Unless, of course, you have an agreement between you where both are happy with that.
- Discuss, don’t fight: If you and your spouse are not good at discussing things, seek help early. Discussion is vital to any relationship. Waiting until your feelings explode causes hurt and is not productive.
- Take care of your finances: Money causes problems in so many marriages. Set clear boundaries as to how you will manage your finances. Be honest about your financial expectations of the other person. Ensuring you each have a source of income can help greatly.
- Marry the right person: Marrying the right person and marrying for the right reasons is vital.
Understanding why so many marriages fail can improve the chance that yours will last. If despite taking action, your marriage is doomed to fail, seek legal help to find out about divorce options.
