Every marriage faces hardship, and there is no denying in that. Every couple sometime in their relationship thinks of quitting. Creating a lasting marriage takes a lot of efforts, realization, and compromises.
Life is not always sunshine and rainbows, It goes through several ups and downs. Couples who brave these storms together, end up with a greater commitment and love towards their life-partner. Still building a successful marriage is a lifelong challenge.
Understanding the different stages of marriage and the phases a couple goes through can help to build a stronger and more fulfilling relationship.
Stage One: Passion
This is the honeymoon phase when hormones are on top of their game. Romance and intense attraction bond a couple together and leads to commitment. In retrospect, it often seems as short-lived as springtime—by two years, most couples have usually lost that initial magic, though this can vary by couple. But when it is happening, the passion stage is very strong and significant. It is a wave of feel-good brain chemicals orchestrated by Mother Nature to make the two of you forsake all others and take action to ensure the survival of the species.
Even if you’re marrying later in life, or for the second time, nature supplies these delicious bursts of neurotransmitters to make you bond. Couples not only frolic and fall madly in love in the passion stage—they begin to establish the trust, respect and emotional intimacy that will support their relationship forever.
Stage Two: Realization
Passion wears out with time. The joy starts to turn into awakening, This is the time when you realize that marriage isn’t what you expected. At this stage, things start to set in. A more clear vision of the rest of your life together begins. Disappointment and early conflicts are the hallmarks of this difficult, unavoidable period, as the two of you make the first step towards accepting each other for who you really are.
You argue a lot. Reminding yourself you made a lifelong commitment, you start to understand the real meaning of eternity. However, this stage helps you know your partner better as a person. The couples start to define each other’s role, responsibilities and duties going forward.
Stage Three: Cooperation
As marriages progress over time, they inevitably get more complicated. Careers grow, the house gets bigger, personal commitments grow deeper, and children arrive. At this stage of the marriage, it takes on a business-like arrangement. Set aside all that love and emotion and self-realization stuff: things start to get real. There are bills to be paid, investments to be handled, careers to be directed, health to be managed, and first and foremost children to be raised.
A couple needs to find out investigate healthier and more satisfying ways of interacting, at this point. This needs a major leap of faith, those who take it are the fortunate ones because the best of marriage is yet to come.”
Step Four: Falling Out
By this time the couple has already seen major life development as they pass through their midlife. Having seen all the shades of their partner, couples may give up. This happens most as we pass through our 40s and 50s. Couples try to convince themselves that they have tried everything, they start to fall out of love. At this point in time, a relationship can go two ways, some people succumb to the situation lead separate lives together. Still, others decide to invest time in their relationship and give a fresh start.
Deal the best you can with life’s challenges and changes, but at the same time, keep yourself happy and healthy. Letting your marriage see you through can be as simple as sharing daily joys.
Stage Five: Reunion
This is very hard to achieve stage, very few couples reach here. So for a couple has seen decades of ups and downs and they have stood by each other in every thick and thin. There is no more struggle in the relationship, there is more peace and harmony. Couples start to fall in love with each other once again. With a lot of history together they are proud that they stood the test of time.