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Early on in our marriage I asked friends and family, newlyweds and those married for decades what their best marriage advice was. Answers ranged to a degree, but there was a common theme. Then, this past week I asked readers on here what was the key to a happy marriage. In both cases, I heard over and over again that having a mutual respect for our spouse was the most important thing to make a marriage work. Some people even described it as having a “deep respect” for the other person.
In both instances, I immediately started thinking and questioning my own thoughts and behaviors. Do I continually show Ryan, my husband, respect? In every situation do I remember the importance of respecting him? This then led me to ask myself, what is respect? “Respect” seems so vague. I don’t yell or lie. I communicate openly and allow him time to do his hobbies. Isn’t that respect?
Yes, indeed those things are respect, but there is more to it than that. After really thinking about this topic for a while I came up with five behaviors that would ensure I was respecting my man in the best ways possible. Today I want to share with you what I came up with.
Top 5 Behaviors to Show Your Spouse Respect
1. Honor Their Wishes: The things that matter to your spouse should matter to us as well. We should give priority to the things that they deem important. Sometimes these things could be eating dinner together or limiting electronic time in the evenings. Our mate should not have to request things over and over.
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#1 has been a key for us. I had to learn that when my husband is working (Which he does from home) I need to let him just work and hold the personal talk until after work hours. It’s so tempting since he’s just upstairs to go bug him about this or that but his work time is important to him and I need to respect that.
Oh yes, Pam, that would be hard! I have that same problem when Ryan works from home. It is hard to keep them separated! But at least you realize the need for this.