Marriage Series Archives | Marriage & Divorce

“I Married a Narcissist

Introduction: Ken recently searched several book sale websites to see what books are on the market for divorcing spouses. Being surprised at how many books referred to narcissism (e.g., I was Married to a Narcissist), he then explored books about marriage and discovered even more disparaging references to narcissists. Of course, in neither case, marriage […]

Marriage Series: Having a Successful Marriage Takes Skill: Criticisms

Remember those days when you were young and someone criticized you? Recently, we read about on-line criticisms driving young teens to suicide. Social shame is powerful. As we got older, our reactions to criticism become tempered, but for most, never really go away. Dennis was one of the early readers of our book, The Road […]

Marriage Series: Navigating the Invisible Line to Achieve Balance Btween Your Work, Social Life and a Successful Marriage

One of the most significant challenges in marriage is finding a harmonious balance between work, social life, individual activities and nurturing a flourishing relationship when married. This balancing act demands effort, time and focus. However, the “invisible line” that signifies this equilibrium of our focus and attention is ever-changing and feel elusive. The Pivotal Questions. […]

Marriage Series: It Is Surprisingly Easy to Improve a Marriage

It really is easy to improve a marriage, but there are obstacles. The obstacles are not what spouses think; it is what the spouse believe, summarized as follows: Spouses develop beliefs about why their marriage is not better than it is.Most of the time, those are negative beliefs about the other spouse. Spouses in a […]

Marriage Series: Changing Beliefs About Your Marriage

“Your Marriage Book is Very Interesting, but You Don’t Know my Spouse!” In our book, The Road to Marital Success is Unpaved: Seven Skills for Making Marriage Work, we introduce and describe nine important principles [Nine Essential Ingredients to a Successful Marriage] and seven essential skills [Seven Skills for resolving marital disagreements]. Our research indicates […]

Marriage Series: A Real Example of Our Lessons Learned Regarding Marriage Principles and Skills

Our book, The Road to Marital Success is Unpaved: Seven Skills for Making Marriage Work, lays out nine necessary principles and seven essential skills based on research for reaching a successful marriage. A successful marriage includes as many disagreements as an unsuccessful marriage, but the disagreements get resolved successfully, quickly and with less emotional damage. […]

Marriage Series: A Good Marriage is a Matter of Life and Death

Is this an exaggeration? It is a well-known fact that married people generally live longer than divorced or single people. Less known is that spouses who describe their marriage as satisfying live longer than spouses who describe their marriage as unsatisfying. These differences can contribute to better health and can add over five years to […]

Marriage Series: “vive la difference”

Translated accurately, vive la difference means “long live the difference,” but more to the point, it means to celebrate differences. This is especially true in marriages. Sadly, many young, and not so young, people in the market for marriage equate “differences” with “incompatible.” This could not be further from the truth. There are two reasons […]

Marriage Series: Winning the Marriage Game

Almost everyone likes to play games, like golf or tennis. Better yet, everyone likes to win! The enjoyment gets better and better as players learn and practice the skills to play well and win more often. Most people who do not learn the skills involved become discouraged with the game and often quit. One way […]

Marriage Series: Discussions and Decisions to Have After Your First Argument – Impeccable Honesty

Thinking of marriage as a game can make marriage sound a bit inconsequential, when for most married people, marriage is one of the most important parts of their lives. However, it can be helpful to view very serious situations as a game. In fact, applying the science of Game Theory in order to prevail, war […]