Marriage elationships require strategy, foresight and effort. It’s important to maintain your focus and know how to feed your relationship so it continues to thrive. Here are some techniques and resources to help keep your marriage relationship strong.

1.Work on communication skills.

Strong relationships are built on effective communication. Make an effort to really listen to each other and share both positive and negative feelings to keep the environment honest and open.

Some people use a phone call during the day to settle business, so they’re free to enjoy time together when they get home. Stay connected by exploring new ways to expand and improve your communication skills.

2.Do regular maintenance.

Occasionally, take the pulse of your relationship to examine what’s working, what isn’t and what you both can do to strengthen your connection. Do you wish spending time together was a higher priority? Do you share the household work?

Discuss the changes that will bring you into harmony and decide together on the compromises you’re willing to make.

3.Adjust your expectations.

Accept yourself, your spouse and your relationship as they exist today. It’s natural to want the honeymoon phase to last forever.

But people and relationships change over time, and each new milestone brings different dynamics and routines.

4.Doing things together

It is important that couples spend time together. With busy lives, many commitments and children to care for couples can find themselves with very little time for each other.

Spending time together regularly, shopping, dining out, going to the cinema, walking, swimming,involvement in sports, exercising, sharing hobbies and holidays can help couples become closer and have more time to talk and therefore get to know one another better.

5.Physical closeness

It is important for a couple to be close physically. This can include eye contact, holding hands, hugging, sitting close together, massaging one another. More opportunities for physical closeness will enhance a couple’s sense of closeness and intimacy.

It is important for couples to be conscious that some individuals are more comfortable being physically demonstrative than others and it is important to try to understand how comfortable or otherwise your spouse/partner is and take it from there.

6.Humility.

We all have weaknesses and relationships always reveal these faults quicker than anything else on earth. An essential building block of a healthy marriage is the ability to admit that you are not perfect, that you will make mistakes, and that you will need forgiveness.

Holding an attitude of superiority over your partner will bring about resentment and will prevent your relationship from moving forward.

If you struggle in this area, grab a pencil and quickly write down three things that your partner does better than you—that simple exercise should help you stay humble. Repeat as often as necessary.

7.Honesty and trust.

Honesty and trust become the foundation for everything in a successful marriage. But unlike most of the other essentials on this list, trust takes time.

You can become selfless, committed, or patient in a moment, but trust always takes time. Trust is only built after weeks, months, and years of being who you say you are and doing what you say you’ll do.

It takes time, so start now—and if you need to rebuild trust in your relationship, you’ll need to work even harder.