Ways of building a strong relationship with your spouse

A healthy relationship is based on love, trust and affection.

Love although essential as a foundation of a romantic relationship is not enough in building a strong relationship and therefore both partners have to apply their effort to ensure that the affair works out.

Whether your relationship is just starting out or you’ve been together for years, there are steps you can take to build a healthy relationship.

What makes a relationship healthy?

1. Show attention and appreciation.

Material gifts could also strengthen a relationship.

Although material gifts are not a measure of love in any relationship, some studies have shown that if a partner offers gifts, it can contribute to relationship satisfaction. This could be done with words, cards, flowers, acts of kindness, or more.

In a book entitled “How to Be an Adult in Relationships’’, David Richo explains that two of the keys to mindful loving are acceptance and appreciation. Therefore each person must appreciate both the inner and outside abilities, potentials talent that they possess.

2. Be aware of the ups and downs in the journey.

Even though the problems in your relationship seem complex, you should stick to one another.

Life stresses can make us short tempered at times that means you should not take out your anger on your partner, its best to go for couples therapy if the problems are very complex.

Therefore, you shouldn’t expect your relationship to be at a continuous high. When you make a long-term commitment to someone you have to be willing to bear the highs and the lows together.

3. Endeavor to use the word “we”.

A couple holding hands as a sign of love.

According to Robert Levenson, a researcher at the University of California, couples who use the word “we” when talking are happier and more satisfied with their relationships compared to those who use the pronouns “you”, “me”and “I”.

4 Keep physical intimacy alive.

A couple spending quality time together.

The physical affection can be in form of kissing, holding hands, hugging, giving a back scratch, or putting a hand around the other person’s shoulder.

It’s important to be sensitive to what your partner likes therefore inappropriate gestures and touches can make the other person nervous.

Therefore the way you communicate your needs and intentions is more important aspect of a healthy relationship.

5. Focus on the positive aspects in the relationship.

Assisting your partner in house chores makes it easier and fun.

Always look out for what is going well in their relationship, rather than focusing on what is going wrong because of some of their things which you can never change about your partner.

Therefore, the more you fix your attention on them, the more the stress which will make the relationship a burden and it ends up breaking up.

For instance, if your partner dislikes bathing, you can phrase it this way; it makes me so happy when our hygiene is fantastic. When at times we do not wash up, I feel stressed. Let’s come up with a solution together.”

6. Set goals as a couple.

Working together as a couple helps you achieve your desired goals in a relationship.

Be a team of two that’s striving to achieve a set of goals that you’ve set together and that are important to both of you.

Goals enable both of you to be focused as you work hard and lay down strategies to help you succeed. These can be short term or long term depending on the agreement.