It’s Saturday, January 2nd, and we’re less than 48 hours into the

New Year.

With that in mind...

...here are 9 fatal relationship mistakes to avoid in 2016:

Putting anyone or anything before your spouse will kill your marriage.

Think about it: You pledged your life and love to your spouse.

You took an oath to serve them - to put them first now and forever.

Some partners put their career first.

Some put the kids first. Now don’t get me wrong. Kids are a priority;

you’d give your life for them. And you work every day to make their

lives better in some way. 

BUT, your spouse still comes first. So don’t let anything become a

substitute for your relationship with your partner.

You might not realize it but you DO have a life.

And your spouse has a life, too.

Spending time with your respective friends is part of maintaining

a healthy life.

We were created to thrive within an environment of social connection.

 

Sex is part of a healthy marriage.

But is your marriage sexually bankrupt (or close to it)?

Do you “use” sex for anything else besides expressing your

love and affection to your mate?

Although men and women are different, healthy people 
desire sex. 

Regarding men, though, sex is their primary way of
celebrating intimacy with their spouse.

A sexless relationship to a husband is a form of rejection.

Barring physical reasons such as an illness or disability,
a sexless marriage will eventually trigger an emotional
disconnection between a husband and wife. 

If you and your spouse are not sexually connected to
each other, you’re running the grave risk of becoming 
sexually/emotionally connected to someone else.

 

Sexual bankruptcy – or a sexual embargo – is a fatal

mistake that you do not want to make.

Yes, your spouse comes first. 

And yes, there are the kids, friends, and jobs.

BUT – you MUST make time for yourself.

You don’t exist on this planet to only fulfill the needs of 
others. 

YOU do have needs, in case you had forgotten.

 

So make sure you take care of yourself, too, in 2016 because 
if you don’t, you might start feeling resentful, frustrated and

bitter.  

Not listening to your spouse, or giving them your full 
attention, is a fatal mistake.

If your spouse has something important to say – whether

or not it’s important to you – stop whatever you’re doing

and listen.

Don’t interrupt. 

Don’t jump to conclusions.

Don’t assume you know what they’re going to say.

And please, whatever you do (men), don’t assume that the first

thing they tell you is what they REALLY mean or are intending

to say. Listen, and connect the dots by listening to what isn't

being said.

Always having to be right creates a divide between you and

your spouse.

If you always have to be right, the day will come when you will

be right but you will be alone.

Don’t let your ego run your relationship.

Few things create a deeper sense of distrust and distance 
than lies and secrets.

Decide to be honest with your spouse in 2016 – prove yourself 
honest and trustworthy.

Be a person of integrity - someone your partner can count on.

Broken promises damage relationships.

Do what you say you’re going to do. 

Enough said.

Some spouses throw ridiculous temper tantrums.

It’s like their inner child has grabbed their body and time-warped

them back to the terrible two’s.

I say this with love and a smile: If this is you, stop it!!

Your spouse deserves better – they don’t deserve that kind of 
treatment. 

As adults, you have the ability to handle conflict and disagreements in 
constructive ways, not with angry flare-ups.

You might get your own way via a temper tantrum but I promise you’ll

hurt your marriage in the process. 

So resolve right now that temper tantrums and angry outbursts are 
sooooo 2015.

Okay, which of these nine fatal mistakes do you think you should
consider working on in 2016 to have a successful marriage? 

You know what you need to do. So get to it so you can be mad about 
marriage again instead of being just plain mad.

Until next time, this is Mike and Gayle Tucker and we want YOU

to be mad about marriage!