10 Tips for Building a Strong Relationship

When you hear about couples who maintain a strong relationship
through all of life’s challenges, you may wonder how they do it. Some
of these couples have faced the same kinds of difficulties that can lead
to break-ups for other people, such as financial problems, trouble with
in-laws, or differences in interests or personalities. But somehow,
these couples have stayed together while others haven’t.
For a long time marriage counselors and others thought that couples
had the best chance of staying together if they had similar
backgrounds and interests. But recently, experts have developed a
different view. Many people now believe that common backgrounds
and interests may be less important than other factors, such as
differences in values, how couples handle disagreements, or how
committed they are.
Every couple is different, so there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for a
good relationship. But people who’ve stayed together for a long time
tend to have some of the same things in common. Here are ten tips
based on the conclusions experts have drawn from studying successful
relationships:
1. Have a strong commitment to making your relationship
work.
Many couples start out with a strong commitment to their relationship
but, after a while, begin to give it less attention. They may neglect
each other while focusing on their work, children, or a time-consuming
hobby. In strong relationships both people may have outside interests,
but they continue to make their commitment to each other a top
priority...