What does it take to build a strong bond with your partner or to make them happy? The answer is much simpler than you think. It doesn’t take extravagant gifts or fancy trips abroad to make your spouse happy or to make your relationship strong.
No, it is the daily things like saying I love you regularly and learning how to verbalize your wants and needs that will strengthen your bond and bring happiness into your relationship.
What makes a relationship strong and healthy? Effort and love. Whether you’ve been married for months or decades there are always ways to improve your relationship and yourself. Here are seven tips to cement your bond and a long sustaining, happy future.
1. Argue To Fix, Not To Win
One tip to build a strong bond with your partner is to argue to fix a problem, not to win an argument.
Learn to fight fair. Do not dredge up issues or problems from the past. Do not say things purposely to hurt your partner’s feelings or to weaken them. Do not squabble about who is right or wrong. Instead, focus on how you can solve the issue at hand and prevent the argument from spinning out of control.
Both partners should make a real effort to see the other’s point of view and to have empathy for how they are feeling. Do not view your argument as a negative experience. Instead, speak to solve, compromise and work towards a solution.
2. Communicate Regularly
One tip to build a stronger bond is to communicate regularly with your spouse. You often hear that communication is the key to successful relationships, but have you ever wondered why?
Communication is about both understanding one another and learning about each other. When you talk regularly, you connect on an intimate level. It is also a forum for you to settle any disputes without arguing. This can relieve stress between married couples and it allows you to vent out any anxiety you feel about your lives.
Do not think that communicating with your mate means you have to tackle heavy topics every time you speak. Communicating also means expressing yourselves to one another about your day or your children.
3. Laugh Together
Couples who laugh together strengthen their bond. Not to mention, laughter can naturally boost your immune system, relieve stress, lower blood pressures, and release feel-good endorphins in your body.
Joking around with your mate is also a great way to ease tension or to stop a fight. Not to mention, couples feel closer when they have “inside jokes” that they can refer to.
4. I Love You
Who doesn’t love hearing “I love you” every day? Those three little words have the ultimate power to make you feel special and draw you closer as a couple. The caveat? They must be said honestly, not out of habit. Expressing your love does not have to be elaborate, it should simply be sincere.
There are many ways to display love in your relationship. You can show love by kissing, hugging, engaging in physical intimacy, and even through surprise gifts. These touch sensations bring couples closer together.
Your love is the ultimate bond you share. It is the way you express how you value and care for one another. You can also verbalize love by saying “I love you”, complimenting your partner on all the things you appreciate about them. You can also show you love your partner by staying in contact throughout the day, even just to say hello and let your mate know they are on your mind.
5. Learn What Your Partner Values
Dr. Gary Chapman believes that there are five love languages that are unique to each individual.
These five love languages consist of words of Affirmation, Physical touch, Quality time together, Acts of service(such as helping out around the house), and finally, Receiving gifts.
Whether you believe in the love language or not, it is important to get to know what your partner values when it comes to expressing affection. This lets you discover how to please them and make them feel valued in the marriage.
6. Go To Bed Together
Many couples do not end their day together.
Often, one stays up later in another room to continue watching television or surfing the internet. In her book “Marriage Meetings for Lasting Love: 30 Minutes to the Relationship You’ve Always Wanted”, Marcia Naomi Berger, a psychotherapist, says that couples who maintain different sleep schedules and do not go to bed at the same time grow detached from one another. This can lead to feelings of loneliness in the marriage and cause couples to drift apart.
The time you have together before bed is the time you spend bonding through touch. Your body sends out the “love hormone” oxytocin, which makes you feel closer to your mate. This is also the time when many couples get physically intimate. Going to sleep together has a particularly strong effect on females, who are more likely to have positive partner interactions the following day.
7. Be Honest
When you got married you took vows, essentially, to always do your best for one another.
One tip to build a stronger bond with your mate is, to be honest with them. Without a foundation of trust, a relationship cannot survive. When you are honest with your partner you set a precedent that they can trust you. Being honest doesn’t just mean telling the truth. It means honoring your partner by remaining faithful to them in word and deed.
Honesty has many other benefits. For example, you cannot read minds. By being honest with one another you open the way to communicate more efficiently, to express your feelings, and to fix any problems you may be having in your marriage. Being honest with your partner also allows you to hold a clean conscience before your partner.
Putting your time and energy into working on your relationship is always worth it. These tips to build a strong bond by communicating regularly, being open with your love, and learning what your partner values in a relationship you’ll be well on your way to building a strong marriage and a happier future together.