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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Come on, get happy
There are seven laws that universally apply to happy couples. How many of them apply to your relationship?
1. The Law of Contribution -- Both people in a couple relationship contribute to the relationship, both good and bad. This seems fairly obvious, yet many people like to forget this one and blame their partner for the difficulties in the relationship. Try thinking of it in this way: You are both eating out of the same pot of stew, so it's your choice whether to load it up with good stuff or road kill.
2. The Law of Fun -- Do you want to have a long and happy relationship? Make sure you are having fun together.
3. The Law of the Tithe -- Do the two of you regularly give to a cause greater than yourselves? It makes you grow closer together and sets you up for abundance.
4. The Law of "Couple Friends" -- You must have friends that are couples. Why is this so important? If you have no other friends that are couples, it's extremely easy to lose perspective and become isolated. Couple friends help hold you up during times of trouble, celebrate with you in the good times, and give you great perspective.
5. The Law of Remembering -- This kind of remembering is much more that remembering the date of your anniversary (though that is a good thing to do). It's also great to be regularly reminded of what attracted you to your partner.
6. The Law of Differences -- Of course the two of you see some things differently. Celebrate and learn from those differences. After all, if both of you saw everything in the exact same way, one of you would not be necessary.
7. The Law of the Date -- Do you still date? I mean each other, of course. Regular dates, once a week or on some other regular schedule, is good glue for a happy relationship. And you don't have to do the same old "dinner and a movie" week after week. You can get 300 creative and inexpensive dating ideas when you visit http://GreatDatesDoneCheap.com
Jeff Herring is a former marriage and family therapist and relationship coach. Maritza Parra is a coach who has appeared on Oprah's XM radio show The Soul Series.
-- McClatchy-Tribune
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 10, 2012 E2
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