The divorce rate is nearing record heights. With both men and women treating relationships so carelessly, 2014 seems to be a year where couples will face many challenges. If you know the challenges and are aware of what causes them, you and your significant other will be better prepared to handle them and become a role model for others in the process. Here are a few challenges you and your significant other should be aware of.
Ghosts of Past Relationships
Couples have to learn the past is the past. What’s in the past must stay in the past. Anything that rises up from the past, only comes back to haunt and stir things up in the present. Partners have to identify and deal with old ways of thinking and dysfunctional behavior.
Replace the old with new, safe and functional behaviors. These may seem like insignificant changes, however what will you do when those old patterns begin to interfere with your marriage and family relationships?
Social Media Influence
What’s a good relationship? For better or worse, many of us look at popular culture to base our criteria of what a good relationship should look like. Depending on who you choose to model this could be a disaster waiting to happen. Patterning your relationship after the likes of Kanye West & Kim Kardashian,
will lead you down a path you’ll more than likely regret. You’ll be better off going to relationship blogs and finding practical answers rather than mimicking Kanye & Kim. Find down to earth role models to learn from their strengths and weaknesses to improve your relationship.
Trust Issues
When you deal with the past pain of a broken relationship, you tend not to trust people as much as you did before. This is understandable, however, you shouldn’t let it become a stumbling block. Make your significant other aware of your trust issues.
You both need to understand increasing trust comes with patience and time. As long as you do that and begin to trust each other, you’ll learn other challenges you face as a couple will become a lot easier to overcome.
Financial Challenges
Romance + No Financial Plan = Ignorance. Sadly to say, one of the most important causes of divorce are finances. Couples fight all the time over money. The key like any other aspect in a relationship is to make sure you both know each other’s financial personality.
Does your significant other have shopping splurges, and not like to save for a rainy day? On the other end, maybe they’re very cheap and don’t like to spend money on nice things like a romantic getaway.
Whatever the financial situation, it may come up in your relationship. If you both are financially on the same page, these financial decisions should be easy to decide. If you’re not on the same page, something as easy as who’s paying for the “date night” bill can turn into a huge argument.
Remember to trust each other and communicate, the new challenges you may face in the new year will be a breeze.
About the Author
Brandon Grimes is a free-lance writer and avid poetry fanatic. He writes short stories, poems, top 10 posts for various niche industries across the country.
