Don't let your marriage become stagnant #marriageadvice #relationships #growth

All living things must grow. Anything that's alive has to develop, it has to change, it can't remain stagnant. Now, we hear this all the time. People who are married for a while, and the way they describe it is it lost the spark, but they mean something much deeper than that. It's not just chemistry, attraction, it's something actually much deeper. Maybe even they're still growing as individuals, but the relationship stopped growing. The relationship isn't deeper than it was a year ago. Their connection isn't more meaningful and profound than it was a year ago. So, the key to keeping things growing is to get over the one internal blockage that prevents growth in marriage and in all areas of life, and that is the fear of change. You see, we become comfortable with certain set patterns, and we cling to it because it's familiar and it feels safe, but it is the enemy of growth. So, for instance, in a marriage that's growing, spouses have to be willing to discuss doing things differently than they've done them before. Not to just continue doing things the same way cuz that's how we've done it. Try new things, and I don't just mean like take a vacation to a new destination. I'm talking about the stuff that really matters in life. Like have a deep conversation about your values, and re-examine things that maybe even were fundamental principles that you built your home on, and be willing to have a discussion. How important are those things today? Have our values changed? Have we evolved as a couple, as a family? Are things important to us today that didn't used to be important to us in the past, and vice versa? Are there things that were important to us in the past and are no longer important? In other words, everything has to be open and flowing, susceptible to change, re-examination, and then it's living and it grows.