Episode #143 Date Your Spouse

Three Problems

• When it comes to marriage, coasting is always backwards.
• Stretching ourselves too thin is an act of pride that harms our most important relationships.
• It often feels safer, easier, and less vulnerable to invest our energy in work than to cultivate intimacy with another human being.

Seven Principles

• Marriage requires ongoing investment and continued commitment, not merely initial effort.
• We will never outgrow the need for fun activities, meaningful conversations, and intentionally intimate connection.
• The health of a marriage is defined by the accumulation of each partner’s choices.
• Relational routines breed consistency, and structure often precedes spontaneity.
• Sometimes the healthiest step we can take in our marriage is to change our career or reduce our working hours.
• If we feed and nurture the fire of our relationships, it will continue to burn brighter and stronger rather than fizzling out.
• We are just a few great dates away from developing deeper connection and reclaiming the passions of yesterday.

Three Practices

• When your marriage begins to feel stale or otherwise difficult, return to the activities you most enjoyed when the relationship first began.
• Go on a date every two weeks, schedule a weekend getaway every two months, and spend an entire week together every two years.
• Evaluate your priorities by asking yourself, “What am I willing to sacrifice in order to deepen my relationship with my spouse?”