Question #1 – Do your marital expectations harm or enhance your marriage?
Harm – You and / or your spouse have unrealistic expectations, assuming your marriage will automatically be “happily ever after.”
Unfortunately, the media does a fantastic job portraying the dangerous myth that marital bliss is immediate and effortless. Have you bought into this myth? While marriage offers the opportunity for extraordinary happiness (and I intentionally stress the word opportunity), this takes consistent effort!
Harm – You have resigned yourself to always having a sub-par marriage.
This mindset will poison your relationship. Our expectations – good or bad – frequently influence our decisions. Regardless of how happy you are presently in your marriage, you won’t achieve the healthiest version of your marriage without first understanding that the possibility of marital happiness exists for every couple!
Enhance – You recognize that a healthy marriage is possible and that it is worth every effort to achieve such a relationship. You also realize that there is no shortcut to marital happiness. Finally, you recognize that destiny and soulmates aren’t the ingredients to marital happiness (sorry Hollywood), rather friendship, forgiveness, and hard work!
Every successful marriage for every happy couple in the world is the result of intentionality and hard work. In all of my years studying marriage and observing couples, I am yet to see an exception to this rule.
Question #2 – Are you following the blueprints to build a marriage shack or a marriage mansion?
Marriage Shack – Not to be confused with The B-52’s song “Love Shack,” if your goal is to build a marriage shack you really need set better goals [Symbol]. As you know, a shack is either haphazardly constructed of cheap materials or refers to a structure that may have once been nice but has since fallen into disrepair.
If either of these analogies describes your current marriage, you need to tear up those blue prints and create a much better design. Why have a shack when you could have a mansion?
Marriage Mansion – Admittedly, I have never lived in a mansion. But I’ve visited a few! Usually, they seem to be beautifully decorated and meticulously maintained with plenty of space.
This applies to marriages as well. The happiest of relationships are built on a beautiful friendship. These couples pay meticulous attention to each other’s needs, hopes, fears, and desires. And these couples nurture their marriage by spending ample time together.
You may not feel like your marriage resembles a mansion just yet. But if you ever hope to have that marriage mansion, it is critical that you follow the right blueprint. Marital mansions are constructed with kindness, selflessness, forgiveness, resilience, and emotional and physical intimacy. Further healthy communication and sufficient time together are always necessary to construct such a marriage.
Like me, you also may never actually live in an actual mansion (not a huge tragedy). But missing out on the opportunity to construct this type of a marriage really is a tragedy.
I encourage each of you to carefully evaluate your expectations for your marriage as well as your current blueprint for maximizing the happiness in this relationship. Remember, a truly happy marriage is worth every effort!
