What You Should Know by So family Marriage is not a walk in the park. In fact, it is a lot of work. If two people are in love and want to remain together forever, they need to work at it, and work hard. However, it shouldn’t all be about work. Any good marriage needs to continue to be exciting and interesting for people to want to stay in it. Here are five tips for keeping any marriage more interesting and exciting over the years:

-Be independent. The ‘two halves make a whole’ theory is so outdated. You should be a fully-developed person with your own interests and so should your partner. When you have different interests, you have more to talk about and you won’t be sick of spending every second together.

-Take trips and be spontaneous. In times when the mundane daily schedule can often become overbearing, a little break from the same old routine can make a big difference. Get up off the couch and take your partner to dinner, a walk in the park, or even just sit down to watch a new show that he or she likes. Do something different, and don’t plan so much.

-Spice up the bedroom. While this is an obvious solution to add excitement, it is one that many couples don’t take seriously enough. The sex life that you have with your spouse has more in common with the strength of your relationship than either of you might realize, and that intimate connection is necessary to keep things working effectively.

-Don’t hold things over each other. Although this is more about keeping the relationship healthy, positive, respectful attitudes can do a lot to increase the excitement level as well. You should never use anything against each other in a fight unless you are willing to follow through. Empty threats and trying to get ‘one up’ on the other is unhealthy and a surefire path to failure of your marriage.

-Go on dates. It’s that simple. Do special things for your spouse and make them feel like every day is as good as the day you first met. Take them to dinner, and don’t do a typical routine thing. If you usually go to the Chinese buffet on Thursdays, that’s not a date. That’s routine.

These are great ways to keep your marriage interesting, healthy, and exciting for years to come. Remember that mutual love and respect from independent individuals can go a long way.